UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


YOUNG    DELINQUENTS 


YOUNG  DELINQUENTS 

A  STUDY  OF  REFORMATORY 
AND    INDUSTRIAL    SCHOOLS 

BY 

MARY   G.    BARNETT 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY 

THE  RIGHT  HON.   SIR  JOHN  GORST 


>  J  J      3        i     »  '> 


f  ^^'  ? 


NEW  YORK 
E.  P.   DUTTON  &  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 

3  '7  w  <^  ^ 


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I   «    •       w  t       "    ,    • 


«        ci«  ••«• 


1998 


PREFATORY    NOTE 

THE  following  study  of  Reformatory  and 
Industrial  Schools  is  the  outcome  of  a 
thesis  written  for  the  Higher  Diploma  of  Social 
Study  of  Birmingham  University.  It  was  felt 
that  a  simple  account  of  the  work  of  the  schools 
might  be  of  some  value,  not  as  a  manual  for 
experts,  but  rather  as  a  matter  of  interest  for 
the  general  public.  The  opinions  expressed 
are  the  result  of  frequent  attendances  at 
Children's  Courts,  and  of  visits  to  some  twenty 
or  thirty  schools.  I  should  here  like  to  express 
my  gratitude  to  the  magistrates  of  the  Birming- 
ham and  Bristol  Children's  Courts  ;  also  to  the 
many  Superintendents,  the  benefit  of  whose 
active  experience  has  been  invaluable.  There 
is  evidently  an  increasing  feeling  that  children 
are  delinquent  because  they  are  untrained  rather 
than  because  they  are  criminal.  Indeed  it  is 
sometimes  estimated  that  at  least  75  per  cent, 
of  the  children   committed  to  the  schools  are 


vi  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

victims  of  neglect  rather  than  wilful  wrong- 
doers. In  consequence,  the  present  tendency- 
is  to  make  the  training  educative  rather  than 
punitive. 

The  publication  of  this  book  has  been  pur- 
posely delayed  in  order  to  include  some  notice 
of  the  Departmental  Committee  appointed  in 
191 1  to  inquire  into  the  condition  of  Reforma- 
tory and  Industrial  Schools.  A  rismn^  of  the 
Report,  which  was  published  June  191 3,  is 
included  in  a  final  chapter.  Most  of  its 
recommendations  are  of  far-reaching  import- 
ance, and  it  is  satisfactory  to  find  that  in  many 
instances  they  are  anticipated  in  the  previous 
chapters  of  the  book. 

May  I  express  my  gratitude  to  the  many- 
experts  who  have  helped  me  in  my  work. 
Especially  to  Miss  Newman,  formerly  Super- 
intendent of  Halstead  Industrial  School.  Also 
to  J.  Courtenay  Lord,  Esq.,  J. P.,  C.  B.  Russell, 
Esq.,  now  appointed  H.M.  Chief  Inspector  of 
Reformatory  and  Industrial  Schools,  T.  D. 
Robertson,  I.S.O.,the  late  Chief  Inspector,  and 
the  Editor  of  The  Certified  Schools  Gazette. 

Mary  G.  Barnett 
Clifton,  June  191 3 


CONTENTS 

Chapter  page 

-'  I.     SOME   CAUSES    OF   JUVENILE   DELINQUENCY  .  I 

II.    THE   EVOLUTION   OF   INSTITUTIONAL  TREATMENT 

FOR   JUVENILE   OFFENDERS  .  .  .  .  l6 

III.  THE    EXISTING    SYSTEM    OF    REFORMATORY    AND 

INDUSTRIAL   SCHOOLS  .....  28 

IV.  THE  PHYSICAL  CONDITION  OF  THE  DELINQUENTS 

AND   THE   MEDICAL   CARE   OF   THE   SCHOOLS.  49^ 
V.    THE      SUPERINTENDENT      AND     THE     STAFF     OF 

REFORMATORY   AND    INDUSTRIAL   SCHOOLS     .  6 1 
VL     THE     ELEMENTARY     EDUCATION     AND     THE     RE- 
LIGIOUS   INSTRUCTION              .            .            .            •  T^ 
Vn.     boys'   REFORMATORY   AND    INDUSTRIAL   SCHOOLS  85 
VIII.     GIRLS'  REFORMATORY  AND  INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOLS  1 26 
IX.    THE  WORK  OF  DAY  INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOLS,  SHORT- 
TERM     INDUSTRIAL     SCHOOLS,    AND    SPECIAL 

INDUSTRIAL   SCHOOLS 15  ^ 

X.    THE     RESULTS      OF     THE      TRAINING     AND     THE 

FUTURE   OF   THE   SCHOOLS    .            .            .            •  163 
XI.    THE     REPORT      OF     THE      DEPARTMENTAL      COM- 
MITTEE  OF    I9II 179 

APPENDIX 203 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 219 

INDEX .221 

vii 


INTRODUCTION 

THE  care  of  destitute  and  necessitous 
children  is  in  our  country  supervised  by 
three  public  departments — the  Home  Office, 
the  Local  Government  Board  (the  Boards  of 
Guardians  form  part  of  its  system),  and  the 
Board  of  Education  and  its  local  authorities. 
These  three  departments  overlap  and  interfere 
with  each  other  ;  their  principles  of  administra- 
tion and  their  treatment  of  the  young  differ 
fundamentally.  Not  one  of  them  has  proved 
so  conspicuous  a  success  as  to  admit  of  its 
superseding  the  others  and  being  made  uni- 
versal. The  idea  of  establishing  one  authority, 
acting  on  one  theory  and  one  method,  is  a 
dream  of  the  future  still.  Besides  these  three 
public  departments,  there  are  an  infinity  of 
private  voluntary  associations,  which  get  hold 
of  derelict  children,  generally  with  the  best 
intentions  and  from  the  most  laudable  motives, 
and  bring  them  up  upon  a  system  of  their  own 
devising,  tempered  always  by  the  financial 
necessity  of  obtaining  sufficient   support  from 

ix 


X  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

the  charitable  public  to  make  both  ends  meet. 
Conspicuous  amongst  these  are  those  excellent 
institutions,  Dr.  Barnardo's  Homes  and  the 
"  Waifs  and  Strays."  If  a  judicial  body  were 
appointed  to  investigate  all  these  varied 
methods  and  decide  which  was  the  best,  it  is 
difficult  to  conjecture  to  which  the  prize  would 
be  awarded  ;  probably  not  to  one  of  the  three 
public  departments  in  its  collective  capacity. 
There  are  excellent  Industrial  Schools  ;  most 
efficient  schools  of  some  of  the  Boards  of 
Guardians  ;  successful  schools  of  the  Education 
Department.  But  among  the  works  of  private 
enterprise  more  excellent  ways  might  be  dis- 
covered, at  least  so  far  as  the  interests  of  the 
children  were  concerned. 

But  such  an  inquiry  and  adjudication  is  not 
the  object  of  Miss  Barnett's  book.  It  is  a 
very  clear  and  detailed  account  of  the  Home 
Office  System  as  revealed  by  the  last  of  many 
Commissions  and  countless  Committees  that 
have  sat  upon  it.  The  majority  of  the 
Committee  do  not  seem  to  place  their  recom- 
mendations very  high  ;  they  appear  to  be  of 
the  opinion  that  the  Home  Office  Schools 
are  only  temporary  institutions,  to  form  part 
hereafter  of  the  general  national  education  of 
the  country,  and  to  be  placed  as  such  under 
the  Education  Department.  Theoretically 
there   is    much    to   be   said    in  favour  of  this 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

view.       To    attribute    any   sort    of    criminality 
to    most   of  the  inmates   of  the   Home  Office 
Schools  is  a  mistake  and  an  injustice.      In  the 
jurisprudence  of  many  foreign  countries,  notably 
in  Germany,  children   are  incapable  of  crime, 
and  are  not  treated  as  criminals  as  a  conse- 
quence of  any  undesirable  acts  which  they  have 
done.      Many  of  those  who  in  this  country  are 
"committed"  by  the    authority   of   "justices" 
are  as  innocent  as  babes ;   they  are  of  tender 
age,  and  as  irresponsible  as  infants.      It  is  by 
their  environment  only,  which  they  cannot  help, 
that  all  the  mischief  of  their  condition  has  been 
produced  ;  and  if  that  can  be  changed  they  will 
grow  up  as  good  as  the  best.     They  do   not 
deserve  to  be  exposed   to  any  sort  of  prison 
taint.     It  is  not  unnatural,  therefore,  that  there 
should  be  a  general  trend  of  opinion  amongst 
those  who  take  a  wide  view  of  national  educa- 
tion in  favour  of  transferrinof  the  schools  of  the 
Home    Office    to   the    Education   Department. 
But  there  is  in  the  world  at  present  an  opposite 
and  antagonistic  tendency.      It  is  the  opinion 
of  many  that  reliance  should  be  placed  upon 
magistrates,  police,  and  those  who  administer 
the  criminal  law,  for  the  reform  of  the  deserted 
and  abandoned  children — "delinquents,"  as  Miss 
Barnett  calls  them.     This  tendency  cannot  be 
ignored.     It  prevails  as  the  established  practice 
throughout  the  United  States  of  America,  and 


xii  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

in  our  self-governing  Dominions.  It  is  based, 
not  on  sentiment  or  theory,  but  upon  considera- 
tions of  practical  experiment  and  proved  ad- 
ministrative efficiency.  Magistrates  and  police- 
men understand  derelict  children  better,  and 
have  proved  themselves  more  efficient  in 
reaching  and  dealing  with  them  than  education 
authorities  and  attendance  officers  :  so  society 
uses  them  in  spite  of  theoretical  objection. 
The  Home  Office  administration  will  evidently 
last  for  a  long  time  to  come.  It  is  therefore 
important  that  social  reformers  should  know 
accurately  what  the  system  is,  and  that  is  what 
Miss  Barnett's  book  tells  us. 

There  is  also  a  description  of  the  reforms 
which  the  Committee  recommend,  not  with  the 
hope  of  perpetuating  the  system,  but  to  make 
it  tolerable  enough  to  last  for  some  time  to 
come.  The  recommendations  of  Commissions 
and  Committees  generally  have  the  fate  of 
being  put  in  a  pigeon-hole  in  a  Government 
office  and  there  forgotten.  If  any  part  of  the 
advice  given  by  this  Committee  is  actually  put 
into  force  it  will  so  far  give  the  Home  Office 
Schools  a  new  lease  of  life.  The  recommenda- 
tions are  not  heroic  or  drastic,  and  leave  the 
proved  weaknesses  of  the  schools  mitigated  but 
not  extinguished.  The  performance  of  this 
great  National  Service  is  still  to  be  based  on 
Voluntary  Effort.      Managers  will  be  practically 


INTRODUCTION  xiii 

self-appointed,  and  financially  responsible.    How 

they  are  still  to  be  induced  to  undertake  such 

obligations,  or  how  local  authorities  are  to  be 

made,     in     default     of    charity,     to     take     up 

the   task,    does  not   appear.      As   the   scheme 

will  cost    money,   many   rural   authorities,   and 

some     urban,    will    not    take     the    thing     up 

unless     obliged.       Flogging     boys     and     girls 

is   to   go    on    as    heretofore,    subject    to    some 

sanctimonious   observations   of  the   Committee 

as    to    the    uselessness    of    the     proceeding  ; 

one     solitary     member     alone,     Mr.     Howard 

Whitehouse,  objects  to   this   peculiarly   British 

practice.     There  is  to  be  provision  for  a  further 

extension    of  officialism — a   special    branch    of 

the    Home    Office,    with    its   own    officers,   an 

advisory    committee    of    "  experts,"    and    the 

disposal    of    a    variable     "  grant  "    which    will 

keep     a     hold     on     managers     through     their 

want    of   money.      There    is    to    be   a    double 

inspection    by    Home    Office    and    Education 

Inspectors  which  may  lead  to  greater  efficiency 

or   to   all    the    evils    of    double    government. 

There    are    at   the    same    time    excellent    and 

valuable    suggestions    for    better    medical   care 

and    supervision,     for    more    activity    on    the 

part  of  local  authorities,  for  the  improvements 

of  the    conditions  and    the    prospects  of    the 

teaching  staff,  for  better  industrial  training  and 

general    education,    which    could    at    once    be 


xiv  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

carried  into  practice  to  the  great  advantage 
of  the  pupils — all  of  which  are  described  in 
Miss  Barnett's  book,  and  will  interest  all 
readers  who  desire  the  welfare  of  the  children 
under  Home  Office  care. 


JOHN  E.  GORST 


YOUNG    DELINQUENTS 

CHAPTER   I 

SOME    CAUSES   OF   JUVENILE    DELINQUENCY 

A — Environment  and  Association. 

1.  Moral  and  Physical  Efifects  of  a  Town  Environment. 

2.  Parental  Neglect  arising  from  the  Stress  of  Town  Life. 

3.  Lack  of  Discipline  in  the  Home. 

4.  Influence  of  Cheap  Literature  and  the  Cinematograph. 

5.  Prevalence  of  Gambling  and  Betting. 
B— Changes  in  Economic  and  Social  Conditions. 

1.  Effects  of  the  Factory  System. 

2.  Infringement  of  By-laws. 

3.  Juvenile  Street-trading. 
C — Heredity. 

1.  Dependence  on  Environment  and  Association. 

2.  Some  Effects  of  Physical  Heredity. 

A — Environment  and  Association 

RECENT  investigations  have  clearly  shown 
that  not  only  does  juvenile  delinquency 
increase  in  direct  proportion  to  population,  but 
it  has  also  shown  that  the  further  a  growing 
child  is  removed  from  the  health-giving  in- 
fluences of  the  country,  the  more  frequent  are 
his  lapses  into  mischief  and  crime.  One  of  the 
most  apparent  effects  of  town  life  upon  the 
character  of  a  child  is  seen  in  a  lack  of  rever- 


2  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

ence.  Country  dwellers,  from  an  early  age, 
are  witnesses  of  the  works  of  Nature,  and 
therefore  their  subconscious  mind  is  imbued 
with  a  spirit  of  reverence.  But  the  townsfolk, 
from  babyhood,  are  far  more  familiar  with  the 
works  of  man,  stamped  with  a  grim  uniformity  ; 
their  wits  may  be  sharper,  but  often  it  is  an 
unhealthy  sharpness.  If  the  country  dwellers 
lack  in  this  respect,  they  gain  much  from  the 
repose  and  beauty  of  their  surroundings,  which 
have  a  lasting  influence  on  their  lives.  It  is 
largely  owing  to  the  fact  that  there  is  so  little 
to  call  forth  reverence  in  the  life  of  a  town  child 
that  the  world  is  beginning  to  say  "  he  has  no 
fear  of  God  or  man." 

With  many  children,  from  an  early  age,  the 
strongest  temptation  is  to  steal  ;  but  whereas 
in  the  country  the  temptations  are  practically 
limited  to  robbing  apple  trees,  in  the  towns 
they  are  continually  increasing.  In  addition 
to  this,  the  village  child  has  usually  "  the 
restraining  eye"  of  his  neighbours  upon  him, 
his  acts  being  watched  and  criticized  by  every 
one  ;  but  the  town  child  may  commit  many 
offences  before  he  is  distinguished  from  the 
myriads  of  his  fellows.  Hungry  and  cold,  he 
is  attracted  by  the  glare  and  the  warmth  of  the 
shops  ;  idle  and  listless,  he  gazes  at  the  brilliant 
posters  of  music  hall  and  picture  palace  ;  ragged 
and  unkempt,  he  sees  an  incessant  procession 


EFFECTS   OF   BAD   ENVIRONMENT         3 

of  well-to-do  people  going  past  :  what  wonder 
that  his  spirit  rebels,  and  he  longs  to  have 
some  share  in  the  good  things  of  life  ?  And 
so  he  falls  imperceptibly  into  beggary  and 
theft. 

A  high  death-rate,  a  lamentable  feature  of 
town  life,  is  another  cause  of  juvenile  delin- 
quency. Large  families  lose  one  or  both 
parents  at  an  early  age,  and  where  the  parents 
survive  they  often  lose  all  vitality  and  sink  into 
a  chronic  condition  of  apathy.^  It  is  needless 
to  say  that  the  children  who  live  in  such  an 
environment  have  a  hard  struggle  for  existence  ; 
even  if  they  are  weakly  the  streets  are  their 
only  playground.  Compulsory  medical  ex- 
amination in  the  Elementary  Schools,  and  the 
supplementary  work  of  the  Care  Committees, 
are  gradually  securing  for  such  children  the 
necessary  medical  attention.  Apart  from 
attending  to  their  physical  disabilities,  they  will 
tend  to  lessen  the  number  of  delinquents,  for  it 
is  now  recognized  that  physical  and  moral 
ailments  are  closely  allied  ;  a  child,  for  example, 
with  adenoids,  or  even  with  decayed  teeth,  may 
have  a  perverted  moral  sense  which  will  be 
corrected  by  proper  medical  treatment.  In 
London,    no    young  delinquent  appears  before 

'  The  family  circumstances  of  1,897  of  the  3,475  children 
committed  to  Industrial  Schools  during  191 1  show  that  54  per 
cent,  were  orphaned  or  deserted. 


4  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

the  magistrates  until  inquiries  have  been  made 
of  the  Care  Committee  as  to  the  child's  health 
and  family  history.  The  result  of  the  trial  is 
then  included  in  the  Care  Committee's  records. 
Tuberculosis  Dispensaries  are  still  further 
assisting  in  the  work  of  caring  for  delicate 
children,  by  discovering  those  who  have  been 
in  contact  with  consumptives  and  are  already 
infected.  Such  children  are  not  permitted  to 
attend  school,  and  they  inevitably  run  wild  in 
the  streets.  Where  this  is  the  case  it  is 
urgently  necessary  to  provide  Open-air  Schools 
in  order  to  protect  them  morally  as  well  as 
physically. 

Parental  neglect,  which  is  the  cause  of  so 
much  delinquency,  is  largely  due  to  the  stress 
of  town  life.  The  father  comes  home  each  day 
tired  from  his  work,  and  finds  the  elder  children 
already  seeking  their  evening's  amusement 
elsewhere  ;  the  squalor  and  close  quarters  of 
the  single  living-room  have  no  attraction  for 
them.  The  younger  children  are  either  put  to 
bed  or  sent  to  play  in  the  streets,  in  order  to  be 
out  of  his  way.  Thus  it  comes  about  that  the 
boys  and  girls  grow  up,  as  a  rule,  with  a  very 
hazy  idea  of  their  male  parent.  The  mother  is 
the  bulwark  of  the  family  ;  she  fights  all  its 
battles  and  slaves  to  make  both  ends  meet ; 
but,  because  she  is  so  often  physically  inefficient, 
and  as  a  result  morally  weak,  the  children  think 


PARENTAL   NEGLECT  5 

her  chief  function  is  to  supply  their  bodily  needs ; 
and,  unless  anyone  happens  to  say  anything 
derogatory  of  her,  they  are  often  extraordinarily 
indifferent  to  her  true  position.  An  ever- 
increasing  family,  which  is  such  a  usual  feature 
of  the  poorest  homes,  is  an  additional  cause  of 
neglect.  The  elder  boys  are  especially  affected, 
as  it  is  they  who  have  to  leave  home  to  make 
room  for  the  new-comers.  They  are  usually 
driven  to  take  refuge  in  crowded  apartments  or 
common  lodging  houses,  where  the  atmosphere 
does  much  to  undermine  their  characters. 

Children  of  tramps  are  some  of  the  most 
seriously  neglected.  The  "  life  of  the  road  " 
may  have  its  attractions  for  the  parents,  but  it 
does  untold  harm  to  the  family  who  trudge 
behind,  managing  to  elude  the  Education 
Authorities  for  months  at  a  time.  There  is 
little  doubt  that  the  moral  education  suffers  as 
seriously/  Such  children  grow  up  with  even 
less  discipline  than  their  contemporaries  in  the 
towns.  But  it  is  only  too  apparent  that  those 
who  suffer  most  severely  from  neglect  come 
from  injtemperate  homes ;  it  is  obvious  that 
where  the  parents  are  given  to  drink  their 
consciences  are  effectually  dulled,  and  they 
make  litde  or  no  effort  to  provide  their  family 
with  suitable  food  and  shelter.  Apart  from 
wilful  neglect,  which  happens  comparatively 
rarely,  much  of  the  evil  is  due  to  the  parents' 


6  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

carelessness  and  ignorance,  and  their  lack  of 
intelligent  interest  in  the  moral  well-being  of 
their  growing  children.  Many  of  them  fail  to 
realize  that  child-life  to-day  is  very  different  from 
what  it  was  in  the  past. 

One  of  the  most  marked  characteristics  of 
the  age  is  a  growing  spirit  of  independence  in 
the  children  and  a  corresponding  slackening  of 
control  in  the  parents.  All  classes  are  per- 
meated, but  it  is  especially  apparent  among  the 
less  educated.  In  such  homes  there  is  in- 
cessant nagging,  and  what  is  permitted  one  day 
is  vociferously  forbidden  the  next.  Kisses  and 
words  of  endearment  are  not  infrequently 
punctuated  with  curses  and  blows.  But  if  one 
of  the  children  is  ill,  or  "  gets  into  trouble," 
nothing  can  be  too  good  for  that  child.  The 
magistrates  are  led  to  believe  that  the  young 
delinquent  who  stands  before  them  is  a  paragon 
of  virtue,  and  they  are  told  repeatedly  that 
"  He  is  always  a  good  boy  at  home  and  never 
gives  no  trouble."  It  is  inevitable  that  since 
there  is  so  litde  to  call  forth  their  respect, 
the  children  will  often  be  ignorant  of  the 
most  elementary  principles  of  obedience,  and 
will  be  content  to  live  their  own  lives  in- 
dependently of  any  control.  Therefore  in  the 
Juvenile  Courts  it  is  no  unusual  occurrence  for 
parents  to  admit  that  they  have  no  authority 
over  their  own  children.     Recently,  during  an 


LACK   OF   PARENTAL  v^ONTROL  7 

afternoon  session,  a  father  told  the  magistrates 
that  he  "  could  do  nothing "  with  his  girl  of 
1 1  ;  and  a  mother  gave  evidence  against  her 
own  little  boy  of  8,  who  had  stolen  four 
shillings  from  his  father.  In  both  these  cases 
it  was  only  too  apparent  that  the  parents  were 
anxious  to  get  rid  of  all  responsibility  for  their 
child.  Occasionally  if  the  magistrates  ask  for 
the  parents'  co-operation,  they  are  told  that 
"  the  child  has  had  a  good  thrashing,  and  he 
says  he  won't  do  it  again."  There  is  seldom 
any  attempt  to  control  him  by  more  reasonable 
and  humane  methods.  When,  in  addition  to 
this,  it  is  remembered  that  a  number  of  the 
children  who  are  brought  before  the  Courts 
have  undoubtedly  been  encouraged  to  steal  by 
their  parents,  it  is  not  altogether  surprising  that 
they  should  lose  any  respect  they  might  have 
had  for  their  natural  guardians. 

Love  of  adventure,  especially  an  adventure 
which  has  the  added  zest  of  risk,  is  the  cause  of 
much  delinquency  amongst  the  boy  population, 
and  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  in  these 
cases  a  certain  amount  of  pluck  and  endurance 
is  implied.  Such  escapades  are  often  the  result 
of  indulging  in  the  thrilling  adventures  recorded 
in  much  of  the  cheap  literature,  which  foster  the 
boys'  innate  love  of  mischief  and  fire  their 
imagination.  There  is  little  doubt  that  at  the 
present  day  the  cinematograph  is  sometimes  an 


8  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

additional  cause  of  wrong-doing,  for  not  only 
are  the  moving  pictures  a  direct  incentive  to 
crime,  demonstrating,  for  instance,  how  a  theft 
could  be  perpetrated,  but  children  of  all  ages 
are  staying  away  from  school  in  order  to  attend 
the  performances.  Time  after  time  the  boys 
and  girls  brought  before  the  magistrates  for 
stealing  confess  that  they  have  spent  the  greater 
part  of  the  money  on  "  the  pictures."  It  has 
been  found  that  children  will  wait  outside  the 
music  halls  and  beg  the  audience  for  their 
programmes  in  order  to  sell  them  again,  and 
when  this  is  accomplished  they  run  off  to  the 
nearest  picture  house  with  their  pennies.  A 
powerful  article  recently  appeared  in  The 
Times  on  "  The  Abuse  of  the  Cinematograph," 
and  the  following  e-xtracts  show  what  untold 
harm  it  is  now  doing  to  the  juvenile  population. 
"  Films  depicting  crimes — burglaries,  robberies, 
suicides,  and  so  forth — are  more  powerful  for 
evil  than  the  worst  of  the  sensational  literature 
which  is  so  often  deplored.  There  is  a  copious 
supply  of  mere  horrors — massacres,  railway 
accidents,  motor-car  smashes,  fires  on  land  and 
sea — all  '  faked,'  and  even  more  blood-curdling 
than  the  realities  they  are  supposed  to  represent. 
Children  feast  upon  these  exaggerated  horrors 
when  they  ought  to  be  going  to  bed  ;  they  get 
home  too  tired  and  excited  to  sleep,  and  are 
unfit  for  their  school-work  next  day.     A  census 


GAMBLING   AND   BETTING  9 

taken  one  day  in  Liverpool  showed  that  there 
were  over  13,000  children  between  the  ages  of 
4  and  14  drinking  in  these  horrors."  ^ 

Gambling  and  betting  are  prevalent  in  many 
of  the  large  towns,  and  since  boys  are  always 
anxious  to  appear  to  be  men,  they  sometimes 
follow  their  example  heedless  of  consequences; 
the  large  number  of  newspapers  which  publish 
sporting  news  makes  it  very  easy  for  them. 
Mr.  Alexander  Paterson,  in  his  most  helpful 
and  suggestive  book,  writes  that  there  are 
three  clear  ways  in  which  betting  spoils  the 
life  of  a  working-class  boy  :  "  Firstly,  it  costs 
him  more  than  he  can  afford,  for  on  a  year's 
betting  every  boy  loses.  Secondly,  it  produces 
an  unhealthy  craving  for  excitement,  which 
makes  him  a  bad  worker.  Thirdly,  it  brings 
inevitably  with  it  a  flashy  material  order  of  life, 
which  weakens  the  hold  on  moral  principle  and 
excludes  the  spirit  of  religion."  ^ 

Boys'  and  Girls'  Clubs  are  doing  a  great 
work  in  affording  counter-attractions  to  the 
streets,  and  in  providing  healthy  outlets  for  the 
natural  energy  of  the  younger  members  of  the 
population.  The  Summer  Camps  are  especially 
helpful  in  creating  healthier  minds  and  bodies. 
It  is  now  not  an  uncommon  sight  in  some 
districts    of  the    great    cities    to   see    boys    in 


•   Times ^  April  11,  191 3. 

Across  the  Bridges,"  Alexander  Paterson. 


s  « 


10  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

running  clothes  trying  to  "  keep  in  condition,"^ 
or  perhaps  groups  of  small  boys,  carrying  staffs, 
going  off  to  the  nearest  fields  "  to  scout,"  all  of 
them  having  the  glimmerings  of  the  responsi- 
bilities of  citizenship  in  their  minds. 

B — Changes  in  Economic  and  Social 
Conditions 

Previous  to  the  Industrial  Revolution  the 
life  of  an  ordinary  working-class  family  was 
comparatively  simple,  but  with  the  rapid  growth 
of  the  factory  system  their  life  became  more 
complex.  Children  of  a  tender  age  had  to 
supplement  their  parents'  earnings,  and  although 
the  efforts  of  Lord  Shaftesbury  and  others 
saved  them  eventually  from  many  physical  and 
moral  evils,  it  was  many  years  before  the  State 
realized  that  it  would  have  to  supply  the  train- 
ing the  parents  were  unable  to  give.  By  the 
Education  Act  of  1870  the  life  of  the  working- 
class  child  was  again  revolutionized,  but, 
although  this  second  revolution  gave  the 
children  education,  it  could  not  restore  to  them 
the  normal  home-life  of  which  they  had  been 
deprived.  As  the  author  of  "  Across  the 
Bridges  "  points  out,  the  school  teachers  are 
the  children's  best  hope.     Upon  them  falls  the 


1  « 


Across  the  Bridges,"  Alexander  Paterson. 


INFRINGEMENT   OF   BY-LAWS  11 

main  responsibility  of  building  up  character  and 
strengthening  powers  of  self-control.  But  they 
are  expected  to  have  completed  this  work 
by  the  time  the  boys  and  girls  are  14,  at 
which  age  they,  and  their  parents,  believe 
education  is  ended.  The  parents  soon  realize 
that  their  children's  earnings  are  a  necessary 
item  on  the  family  exchequer,  and  therefore 
treat  them  with  more  consideration.  The  boys 
and  girls,  on  their  part,  revel  in  the  newly 
acquired  sense  of  independence,  and  demand 
still  further  concessions,  gradually  throwing  off 
the  last  remnants  of  control. 

A  fruitful  cause  of  delinquency,  which  has 
recently  developed,  is  seen  in  the  infringement 
of  the  increasing  number  of  by-laws.  The 
exuberant  spirits  of  a  boy  must  find  some 
outlet,  and  what  may  be  entirely  justifiable  in 
the  country  districts  is  often  a  constant  source 
of  danger  in  the  crowded  thoroughfares  of  the 
city.  Numbers  of  boys  appear  before  the 
magistrates  week  after  week  for  playing  foot- 
ball in  the  streets  ;  usually  they  are  cautioned, 
but  if  it  is  a  second  offence  some  small  fine 
is  exacted.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  local 
authorities  will  soon  see  the  wisdom  of  pro- 
viding sufficient  playgrounds,  and  open  spaces, 
within  easy  access  of  all  young  citizens  in  our 
large  towns  who  need  the  benefits  of  strenuous 
physical  exercise. 


12  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

During  191 1,  605  children  were  brought 
before  the  Birmingham  Juvenile  Court  for 
non-indictable  offences,   including  : 

132   Playing  football  in  the  streets. 
43   Gambling. 
34  Wilful  damage. 
64   Disorderly  conduct. 

A  social  change  which  has  been  an  additional 
cause  of  juvenile  delinquency  is  that  of  the  great 
increase  of  juvenile  street-trading.  It  is  physi- 
cally harmful  inasmuch  as  it  involves  running 
about  the  streets  in  all  weathers,  usually 
carrying  a  heavy  bundle  of  papers  ;  and  it  is 
morally  harmful  because  it  pays  the  youthful 
street-trader  to  be  ragged  and  to  look  pathetic. 
Boys  who  would  scorn  to  wear  ragged  clothes 
at  any  other  time  have  been  known  to  buy 
them  from  some  old-clothes  shop  for  this  one 
purpose.  A  Departmental  Committee  was 
appointed  in  1909  to  inquire  into  the  whole 
subject,  and  it  came  to  the  conclusion,  amongst 
other  things,  that  "the  youthful  street-trader  was 
exposed  to  some  of  the  worst  moral  risks,"  and 
also  that  "  street-trading  tends  to  produce  a 
restless  disposition,  and  a  dislike  and  often  a 
disability  for  any  regular  employment."  From 
the  evidence  laid  before  the  Committee  there 
was  nothing  to  prove  that  the  children  take  to 
it    because   of  the    economic    necessity    of  the 


HEREDITY  13 

home,  but  rather  because  it  is  an  easy  and 
quick  way  of  earning  enough  to  enable  them 
to  attend  picture  palaces  and  other  places  of 
entertainment.  The  Chief  Constable  of  Edin- 
burgh, at  the  Conference  of  Reformatory  and 
Industrial  Schools  and  Refuge  Societies  held 
in  June  191 1,  said  :  "  One  of  the  greatest  con- 
tributory causes  to  youthful  depravity  is  the 
constant  association  with  what  can  well  be 
described  as  the  street-life  of  our  great  cities. 
Two-thirds  of  the  children  passing  through  the 
Courts  during  the  last  thirty  years  have  been 
associated  with  street-trading." 

C — Heredity 

Heredity  is  a  vast  subject  and  one  upon 
which  there  is  great  variety  of  opinion  ;  it  is, 
therefore,  not  possible  here  to  do  more  than 
indicate  some  of  its  more  obvious  effects. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  a  certain  number 
of  children  are  born  with  tendencies  to  develop 
into  criminals,  the  development  of  these  ten- 
dencies depending  to  a  large  extent  on  the 
conditions  under  which  they  live  during  their 
early  youth.  But,  inasmuch  as  there  are  no 
adequate  means  of  discovering  where  heredity 
ends  and  imitation  begins,  it  is  not  possible  to 
form  an  accurate  estimate  of  their  separate 
effect.     Dr.  Morrison,  in  "  Juvenile  Offenders," 


14  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

points  out  that  in  the  majority  of  cases  the 
mental  characteristics  of  the  parents  when  not 
inherited  by  the  children  are  acquired  by  them. 
He  believes  that  the  criminal  calling  descends 
by  apprenticeship,  and  not  as  a  rule  by  parent- 
hood. Recent  investigations  have  been  able  to 
prove  that  the  children  of  intemperate  or  feeble- 
minded parents  often  develop  very  distinct 
criminal  tendencies.  The  notorious  case  of  the 
Jukes  family  is  a  vivid  illustration  of  this  truth. 
Jukes  was  born  in  America  in  1720  ;  he  was  a 
drunkard  and  too  lazy  to  work,  and  his  direct 
descendants  are  said  to  have  cost  the  general 
public  j^  2  50,000. 

The  influences  of  environment  have  been 
proved  to  be  the  most  powerful  cause  of  delin- 
quency. Heredity  is  not  believed  to  account 
for  more  than  one-fifth  of  the  entire  number  of 
juvenile  delinquents.  It  is  generally  admitted 
that  if  it  were  possible  to  eradicate  slum  areas, 
the  number  of  delinquents  would  be  greatly 
diminished  ;  the  streets  would  have  less  attrac- 
tion if  the  children  had  better  homes.  Better 
housing,  however,  is  only  one  of  many  things 
which  will  contribute  towards  the  diminution  of 
delinquency.  It  must  always  be  remembered 
that  a  child  seldom  breaks  the  law  owing  to  a 
single  cause.  A  lack  of  self-control  on  its  own 
part  coupled  with  the  economic  necessity  of  the 
nome  and   the   influence   of  undesirable    com- 


THE  USUAL  CAUSES  OF  DELINQUENCY    15 

panions  are  some  of  the  more  common  causes, 
but  experience  shows  that  "juvenile  deHnquents 
are  the  focus  of  a  number  of  influences — 
malnutrition,  parental  incompetency,  environ- 
ment, association  and  criminal  tendencies."  ^ 

>  "Child  Problems"  Mangold. 


CHAPTER   II 

THE   EVOLUTION  OF  INSTITUTIONAL  TREATMENT 
FOR  JUVENILE   OFFENDERS 

A — The  First  Organized  Attempts  to  deal  with  Juvenile  Delin- 
quency otherwise  than  by  Imprisonment. 

1.  Founding  of  the  Marine  Society. 

2.  Founding  of  the  Philanthropic  Society. 

B — Parliamentary  Inquiries  and  Royal  Commissions. 
C — The  work  of  Individual  Men  and  Women. 

1.  Lord  Shaftesbury. 

2.  Miss  Mary  Carpenter. 

3.  John  Pounds. 

4.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

5.  Sheriff  Watson. 

D — The  First  Reformatory  School  Acts. 
E — Departmental  Committee  of  1896. 
F— The  Children  Act  of  1908. 

A — The  First  Organized  Attempts  to 
Deal  with  Juvenile  Delinquency 
Otherwise  than  by  Imprisonment 

LESS  than  one  hundred  years  ago  numbers 
of  little  children  were  thrown  into  jail 
with  vile  adult  criminals,  and  were  often  sen- 
tenced to  death  for  offences  so  petty  that  to-day 
they  would  hardly  justify  the  mildest  form  of 
probationary  treatment.  Society  gradually 
realized  that  it   was   creating   criminals   rather 

16 


PARLIAMENTARY   INQUIRIES  17 

than  reforming  juvenile  delinquents,  and  the 
way  was  thus  prepared  for  more  enlightened 
methods. 

The  first  organized  attempt  to  deal  with 
juvenile  delinquency  was  made  in  1756  with 
the  founding  of  the  Marine  Society,  "  for  the 
purpose  of  clothing  landsmen  and  boys  for  the 
use  of  the  king's  ship,  and  as  an  expedient  to 
provide. for  poor  boys  who  might  become  a 
nuisance."  The  training-ship  Warspiie,  which 
still  exists,  was  the  outcome  of  this  movement. 
In  1788  the  Philanthropic  Society  was  founded, 
"  for  the  protection  of  poor  children,  and  the 
offsprings  of  convicted  felons  ;  and  for  the 
reformation  of  those  who  have  themselves 
been  engaged  in  criminal  practices."  The 
same  Society  opened  at  Redhill,  in  1840,  the 
first  Boys'  Reformatory  School. 


B — Parliamentary  Inquiries  and   Royal 
Commissions 

At  intervals  from  1811-19  Parliamentary 
Inquiries  were  held,  and  although  the  imprison- 
ment of  young  children  was  condemned,  it  was 
to  no  purpose.  As  late  as  1833  a  boy  of  9 
was  sentenced  to  death,  but  not  executed,  for 
stealing  2d.  worth  of  paint,  and  two  boys  of 
15,    after    fifty-one     days     in  jail    before    trial. 


18  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

were  transported  for  seven  years  for  stealing  a 
pair  of  boots. ^  Public  opinion  was  gradually 
roused  to  the  disgrace  and  futility  of  these 
methods  of  dealing  with  youthful  offenders. 
In  1834  a  Royal  Commission  was  appointed, 
and  "  the  more  summary  treatment  of  children 
was  recommended  for  the  safety  of  the  king- 
dom." Consequently  Parkhurst  Prison,  on  the 
Isle  of  Wight,  was  allotted  to  boys  under 
18.  Whilst  at  the  prison  they  were  kept  in 
chains,  and  when  at  work  they  were  guarded 
by  warders  with  loaded  rifles.  They  were 
eventually  sent  to  Australia  with  a  "  ticket  of 
leave  "  if  their  conduct  was  considered  suffi- 
ciently satisfactory. 

C — The  Work  of  Individual  Men  and 

Women 

Meanwhile  individual  men  and  women, 
notably  Lord  Shaftesbury  and  Miss  Mary 
Carpenter,  had  done  much  to  draw  public 
attention  to  the  deplorable  condition  of  vast 
numbers  of  children,  especially  in  the  manu- 
facturing districts.  John  Pounds,  who  died  in 
1839,  was  another  pioneer.  He  used  to  gather 
round  him,  in  his  shoemaker's  shop  at  Ports- 
mouth, some  of  the  incorrigible  children  in  the 
neighbourhood,  and  his  singular  influence  had 


1  " 


The  Making  of  the  Criminal,"  C.  B.  Russell. 


RAGGED  SCHOOLS  19 

a  remarkable  effect.  The  first  Ragged  School 
was  opened  by  Dr.  Guthrie  at  Edinburgh 
in  1846.  A  few  years  previously  a  School  of 
Industry  had  been  founded  at  Dundee  by 
Sheriff  Watson.  This  institution  is  said  to 
have  been  the  beginning  of  the  whole  system  of 
Reformatory  and  Industrial  Schools. 

In  England  the  Industrial  Schools  were 
directly  an  outcome  of  the  Ragged  Schools, 
and  were  at  first  frequently  mentioned  in  the 
same  connexion.  The  first  so-called  Industrial 
School  was  established  by  the  Middlesex  jus- 
tices at  Feltham  by  a  private  Act  in  1854  ; 
except  in  point  of  age,  this  school  was  rather  a 
Reformatory  than  an  Industrial  School,  only 
admitting  convicted  children  between  the  ages 
of  7  and  14.  Till  i860  all  Schools  of 
Industry  received  grants  from  the  Education 
Department,  but  in  that  year  they  were  trans- 
ferred to  the  charge  of  the  Home  Office. 

A  Select  Committee  of  the  Lords,  largely 
due  to  the  efforts  of  Lord  Shaftesbury,  Miss 
Mary  Carpenter,  Mr.  Davenport  HiH,  and 
Sheriff  Watson,  had  been  h^ld  in  1847,  and 
conclusive  and  powerful  testimony  was  then 
given  to  the  worse  than  uselessness  of  prisons 
for  juvenile  offenders.  Much  emphasis  was 
laid  on  the  "need  for  "good  Reformatory 
Schools,  conducted  on  Christian  principles, 
where  there  is  a  wise  union  of  kindness  and 


20  YOUiNG   DELINQUENTS 

restraint.  .  .  .  Such  schools  must  be  supported 
and  controlled  by  the  State  ;  .  .  .  and  since 
juvenile  delinquency  usually  originates  in 
parental  neglect,  every  parent  should  be  charge- 
able for  the  maintenance  of  a  child  thrown  by 
crime  on  the  care  of  the  State."  ^ 

In  185 1  the  first  conference  on  Reformatory 
and  Industrial  Schools  was  held  in  Birmincrham, 
and  as  a  result  several  new  voluntary  schools 
were  established.  The  Kingswood  Reformatory, 
Bristol,  was  founded  by  Miss  Carpenter  and 
Mr.  Russell  Scott,  and  the  Saltley  Reformatory 
was  founded  by  Mr.  Adderley,  afterwards  Lord 
Norton.  Stoke  Farm  Reformatory  was  the 
outcome  of  Mr.  Joseph  Sturge's  private  effort 
to  deal  with  sixteen  of  the  worst  lads  in 
Birmingham,  whom  he  placed  in  charge  of  a 
working  shoemaker. 

D — The  First  Reformatory   School  Acts 

The  following  year  Mr.  Adderley  moved  for 
a  Committee  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and 
Miss  Carpenter  and  Mr.  Davenport  Hill  were 
the  first  to  give  evidence.  As  a  result  of  the 
Committee,  the  first  Reformatory  School  Act 
was  passed  in  1854,  enabling  schools  to  obtain 
a  certificate  if  reported  efficient  by  the  Inspector 

'  Proposition  laid  before  the  Select  Committee.     ("  Life  of 
Mary  Carpenter.")    ■ 


THE   ACT    OF    1861  21 

of  Prisons,  and  it  also  authorized  the  Courts 
to  send  them  children  under  i6,  provided 
they  had  been  sentenced  to  not  less  than 
fourteen  days'  preliminary  imprisonment.  The 
first  girls'  Reformatory  School  was  opened  at 
Bristol  in  the  same  year. 

By  an  Act  of  1861,  the  classes  of  children 
who  might  be  sent  to  Industrial  Schools  were 
considerably  increased,  while  an  Act  of  1866 
consolidated  and  amended  previous  Acts,  and 
was  substantially  still  in  force  till  the  passing 
of  the  Children  Act  in  [908.  The  most 
noticeable  changes  were  that  by  Section  4,  a 
special  Inspector  of  Reformatories  was  estab- 
lished ;  by  Section  12,  rules  were  required  to 
be  made  by  the  Secretary  of  State  for  the 
government  of  the  Reformatory  ;  and  by  Sec- 
tion 14,  the  important  limitation  of  age  was 
introduced,  prohibiting  an  offender  under  10 
from  being  sent  to  a  Reformatory  unless  under 
very  special  conditions.  In  1876,  as  an 
amendment  to  this  Act,  Lord  Sandown  pro- 
posed that  School  Boards  should  be  authorized 
to  establish  Day  Industrial  Feeding  Schools 
"  for  those  children  whose  education  is  neg- 
lected by  their  parents,  or  who  are  found 
wandering  or  in  bad  company."  In  1884  a 
Royal  Commission  was  appointed  to  inquire 
into  the  condition  of  all  Certified  Schools,  the 
principal  recommendations  being  :  (i)  That  the 


22  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

profits    of    the    inmates'   labour   should    be   a 
secondary  consideration,  and  premiums  to  the 
governor  or  staff  on  the  amount  of  such  profits 
should  be  discontinued.     (2)  That  the  transfer 
to    the    Education    Department    of    the    edu- 
cational   inspection    would    be    desirable.      (3) 
That  greater  care  was    needed    in   the  return 
of  the  results.      The  Act   of   1893  introduced 
considerable    changes  ;    the  minimum  age   for 
admission    to     Reformatories    was     raised    to 
12,  unless  the   child  had   been  previously  con- 
victed,   and    the    age     at    which    release    was 
obligatory  was  reduced  from   21    to    19.      Per- 
mission was  granted  to  the  Courts  to  send  a 
child    to  a  Reformatory   without   previous   im- 
prisonment,   and     by    the    Act    of     1899    this 
became  law. 

E — The  Departmental  Committee  of   1896 

The  Departmental  Committee  of  1896  directed 
their  criticism  principally  against  the  industrial 
training.  They  found  that  much  of  it  had  litde 
educational  value,  and  that  often  it  was  directed 
to  the  moral  reform  of  the  children  rather  than 
to  the  essential  end  of  enabling  them  to  earn 
good  wages  from  the  moment  of  their  discharge. 
With  the  girls'  schools  it  was  felt  that  there  was 
great  need  of  "  a  large  diminution  of  drudgery 
in  household  work  and  rough  washing."     The 


DEPARTMENTAL   COMMITTEE   OF   1896    23 

report  on  the  elementary  education  was  not 
satisfactory.  It  was  found  that  although  the 
teachers  were  painstaking  and  assiduous,  the 
pay  and  conditions  offered  were  not  such  as  to 
attract  the  best  teachers.  It  was  recommended 
that  in  the  future  the  head  teacher  of  any  school 
with  over  thirty  children  should  be  fully  certifi- 
cated. The  Committee  also  recommended  that 
wherever  possible  the  children  in  Industrial 
Schools  should  attend  the  Elementary  Schools, 
such  a  policy  having  produced  excellent  results 
in  the  Poor  Law  Schools.  In  matters  of  disci- 
pline it  was  considered  that  there  was  often  an 
excessive  dependence  on  rules  and  supervision, 
and  therefore  the  children  had  little  opportunity 
for  cultivating  their  individuality  or  self-reliance. 
The  Committee  also  considered  that  the  exist- 
ing classification  of  results  was  inadequate,  and 
that  the  results  claimed  by  the  Schools  were 
often  far  more  satisfactory  than  was  really  the 
case. 

F — The  Children  Act  of  1908 

The  effect  of  the  Children  Act  has  been  far- 
reaching  in  matters  concerning  the  welfare  of 
the  child  population.  Previous  Acts  were  re- 
pealed and  many  important  alterations  and 
additions  were  made,  and  some  of  the  most 
important    were    those    dealing   with   juvenile 


)  J 

> ) 


>> 


24  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

delinquency.     The  Act  is  divided  into  six  parts 
as  follows  : 

Part     I.    Infant  Life  Protection. 
,,      IL  The  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Chil- 
dren. 
II L  Juvenile  Smoking. 
IV.    Reformatory  and  Industrial  Schools. 
V.  Juvenile  Offenders. 
VI.   Miscellaneous  and  General. 

Part  V  of  the  Act  clearly  indicates  the  pre- 
ventative rather  than  the  punitive  treatment  of 
juvenile  crime.  No  longer  is  it  possible  to 
commit  a  child  under  14  to  prison,  and  only 
in  a  very  few  instances  may  a  "  young  person  " 
of  over  14  and  under  16  be  so  committed, 
namely,  when  he  is  of  so  unruly  a  character 
that  he  cannot  be  detained  in  a  place  of  deten- 
tion, or  that  he  is  of  so  depraved  a  character 
that  he  is  not  a  fit  inmate  for  any  institution. 
It  is  interesting  to  see  the  result  this  has  had  on 
the  juvenile  prison  population. 

In  1856  the  number  of  children  in  prison 
under  12  was  :  1,674  boys  and  316  girls. 
The  number  of  young  persons  of  14  and 
under  16  was  :  boys  10,134,  girls  1,857. 

In  191 1  there  were  no  children  under  14  in 
prison,  and  the  number  of  young  persons 
of  14  and  under  16  was  :  boys  20,  girls  i. 

In  1875,  in  default  of  paying  a  fine,  a  girl  of 


THE   CHILDREN   ACT  25 

13  was  sent  to  prison  for  seven  days  for  wheel- 
ing a  perambulator  on  the  pavement  in  a 
fashionable  thoroughfare.  She  was  found  in 
the  local  jail  by  the  visiting  magistrate,  who 
happily  realized  the  cruel  irony  of  such  a 
punishment  and  paid  her  fine.  If  such  children 
were  sent  to  prison  it  is  not  surprising  that  the 
juvenile  prison  population  had  assumed  such 
alarming  proportions,  nor  is  it  surprising  that 
there  was  such  a  marked  increase  in  juvenile 
crime. 

Section  I II  of  the  Act  directs  that  a  Court  of 
Summary  Jurisdiction  when  hearing  a  charge 
against  a  child  or  young  person  (i.e.  persons 
aged  under  14  years  and  aged  14  to  16  years 
respectively)  shall  take  the  case  in  a  Juvenile 
Court,  or  in  a  different  room,  or  at  a  different 
time  from  the  ordinary  sittings  of  the  Court. 
The  main  principle  is  to  keep  the  child  offender 
separate  from  the  adult  criminal,  and  for  the 
Courts  to  be  regarded  as  agencies  for  rescue  as 
well  as  for  the  punishment  of  children.  The 
following  are  some  of  the  principal  statistics  for 
the  Juvenile  Courts  during  1910  and  191 1. 

In  1910  there  were  34,087  youthful  offenders 
(16,953  children  and  17,134  young  persons) 
brought  before  the  Courts.  Of  these  16  per 
cent,  were  acquitted,  orders  without  conviction 
were  made  against  45  per  cent,,  and  only  39  per 
cent,  were  convicted. 


26 


YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 


In  191 1  there  were  33,744  youthful  offenders 
(17,753  children  and  15,991  young  persons) 
brought  before  the  Courts.  Of  these  15  per 
cent,  were  acquitted,  orders  without  conviction 
were  made  against  45  per  cent.,  and  only  40  per 
cent,  were  convicted. 

Those  who  were  found  culpable  or  who  were 
convicted  were  sentenced  as  follows  : 


CHILDREN   FOUND   CULPABLE 


Dismissed    (in    some    cases    parents 

were  fined) 
Ordered  to  enter  into  recognizances 
Placed  under  probation 
Committed  to  Industrial  Schools 
Placed  in  the  care  of  relatives,  etc. 

Total 


1910. 

7,912 
2,576 
3,568 
1,044 
35 

15,^35 


igii. 

7,987 
2,187 

3,454 
1,124 

13 

Total    .   14,765 


YOUNG   PERSONS   CONVICTED 


Imprisonment    .... 
Confinement  in  Places  of  Detention 
Committed  to  Reformatory  Schools 
Ordered  to  be  whipped  (males) 

Fined         

Ordered  to  enter  into  recognizances 
Otherwise  disposed  of 

Total 


90 

67 

35 

45 

1,143 

1,047 

1,562 

1,579 

10,124 

10,226 

77 

96 

47 

Total 

64 

13,078 

•   13,124 

These  statistics  include  the  "  young  persons  " 
who  were  tried  in  other  Courts  either  because 
they  were  charged  jointly  with  adults,  or  be- 
cause they  were  supposed  to  be  above  16  but 


THE   CHILDREN   ACT  27 

under    17.     In    191 1    only    20    of  the    6"]    im- 
prisoned   were    under     16  ;    whereas     in    the 
preceding  year,  of  the  90  who  were  imprisoned, 
no  less  than    51   were    under    16.     The    large 
number    of   "  Fines "    illustrates    one    of    the 
principal  objects  of  the  Act,  which  aims  "in  no 
case  to  lessen  or  weaken  the  sense  of  responsi- 
bility of  either  the  child  or  its  parents.     With 
the    younger   delinquents    the   parents    usually 
bear  the  burden  of  the  fine  ;  in  the  years  under 
consideration,    13   per  cent,   of  the    fines  were 
paid    by   the  parents  ;    those   delinquents    who 
are  of  working  age  may  be  compelled  to  make 
restitution  for  any  damage  that  they  have  done.^ 
There  can  be  no  better  epitome  of  the  work 
the    Children    Act  is   accomplishing    than    the 
following    words    which    were    spoken    in    the 
House   of   Commons    during    the   debates   on 
the  Bill.     "  We  want  to  say  to  the  child  that  if 
the  world  or  the  world's  law  has  not  been  his 
friend  in  the  past,  it  shall   be  now.     We    say 
that  it  is  the  duty  of  this  Parliament,  and  that 
this  Parliament  is  determined  to  lift  if  possible 
and  rescue  him,  to  shut  the  prison  door,  arid"  to 
open  the  door  of  hope."  ^  \, 

'  186  Hans.  Pari.  Deb.  4th  series,  1262. 
'  Criminal  Statistics  (Part  I)  1910,  191 1. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE   EXISTING   SYSTEM   OF  INSTITUTIONAL  TREAT- 
MENT  FOR   JUVENILE   OFFENDERS 

A — Definition  of"  Reformatory"  and  "  Industrial"  School. 

B — Children  Liable  to  be  sent  to  the  Schools. 

C — Authorities  Responsible  for  their  Maintenance. 

D — Receipts  and  Expenditure  for  the  Schools  during  191 1. 

E — Statistics  of  the  Number  of  Schools  and  the  Number  of 

Children  under  Detention. 
F — Organization  of  the  Schools. 

1.  Certificates  and  Inspection. 

2.  Duties  and  Powers  of  the  Managers. 

G — Difference  between  Reformatory  and  Industrial  Schools. 

1.  Age. 

2.  Offence. 

3.  "  Conviction  "  to  a  Reformatory  School. 

A — Definition  of  a  "  Reformatory  "  and  an 

"Industrial"  School 

(The  Children  Act,  Part  IV) 

THE  expression  'Reformatory  School' 
means  a  school  for  the  industrial  training 
of  youthful  offenders,  in  which  youthful  offenders 
are  lodged,  clothed,  and  fed  as  well  as  taught. 

"  The  expression  '  Industrial  School  '  means 
a  school  for  the  industrial  training  of  children, 
in  which  children  are  lodged,  clothed,  and  fed 
as  well  as  taught.^ 

'  Section  54. 
28 


CHILDREN   LIABLE   TO   BE   COMMITTED   29 

*•  The  expression  '  Certified  School  '  means 
a  Reformatory  or  Industrial  School  which  is 
certified  in  accordance  with  Part  IV  of  the 
Children  Act." 

B — Children  Liable  to  be  sent  to  Reforma- 
tory AND  Industrial  Schools 

Any  youthful  offender  who  is  over  12  and 
under  16  may  be  sent  to  a  Reformatory  School 
if  he  is  convicted  of  an  offence  punishable  in 
the  case  of  an  adult  with  penal  servitude  or 
imprisonment,  provided  that  he  is  not  in 
addition  sentenced  to  imprisonment.  (See 
Appendix  A.) 

The  class  of  children  who  can  be  sent  to 
Industrial  Schools  is  much  larger  ;  they  come 
under  six  categories  which  are  enumerated  in 
Section  58  of  the  Act.  The  first  sub-section 
includes  all  children  under  14  who  are  found 
begging  or  wandering,  or  are  the  children  of 
tramps  and  ne'er-do-weels,  who  have  no  proper 
guardianship  provided  for  them,  and  for  whom 
home-life  is  non-existent.  This  sub-section 
includes,  in  addition,  children  who  are  taken 
from  immoral  surroundings.  During  1911 
3,053  children  were  sent  to  Industrial  Schools 
under  Section  58  of  the  Act,  and  of  these 
55  per  cent,  were  committed  under  the  above 
sub-section. 

Sub-sections  2  and  3  deal  with  the  children 


30  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

who  have  committed  offences  which  in  the  case 
of  an  adult  would  be  punishable  with  imprison- 
ment or  penal  servitude.  If  the  Court  before 
which  the  children  are  brought  considers  it 
expedient,  and  if,  in  the  case  of  a  child  over 
12,  it  is  a  first  conviction,  they  may  be  sent 
to  an  Industrial  School,  provided  that  the 
Managers  are  willing  to  receiv^e  them. 

Sub-sections  4  and  5  deal  respectively  with 
children  who  are  unmanageable  in  their  own 
homes,  or  in  any  Poor  Law  institution.  Such 
childrenas  these  maybe  sent  to  Industrial  Schools 
if  the  parents,  or  the  guardians,  can  satisfy  the 
magistrates  that  the  child  in  question  is  beyond 
their  control.  There  are  very  few  children 
committed  to  the  schools  under  this  sub- 
section. 

Sub-section  6  deals  with  children  who  fail 
to  attend  school  regularly.  Any  local  education 
authority  can  bring  such  children  before  the 
magistrates  ;  for  the  purpose  of  enforcing  an 
attendance  order  they  may  be  sent  to  an  Indus- 
trial  School.     (See  Appendix  B.) 

C — Authorities  Responsible  for  the  Main- 
tenance OF  the  Children  in  Reforma- 
tory AND  Industrial  Schools 

The  cost  of  maintenance  in  both  classes  of 
schools    varies     considerably,     owing     to     the 


COST   OF  MAINTENANCE  31 

different  local  conditions,  the  numbers  of  the 
school,  and  the  profit  made  by  the  industrial 
departments.  In  Reformatories  the  average 
cost  of  each  boy  is  ^26  i^-.  per  annum,  and 
for  girls  it  is  ^25  is.  In  Industrial  Schools 
the  average  cost  for  boys  is  £24.  2s.,  and  for 
girls  it  is  ^23. 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  following  tables  that 
the  cost  of  maintenance  is  mainly  shared  by 
the  local  and  central  authorities  ;  profits  from 
industrial  departments,  legacies  and  subscrip- 
tions being  comparatively  small.  The  Treasury 
grants  to  both  classes  of  school  vary  according 
to  the  age  and  offence  of  the  child  :  the  highest 
grants  are  for  children  over  10  who  have  com- 
mitted some  offence  which  would  be  punishable, 
in  the  case  of  an  adult,  with  penal  servitude 
or  imprisonment.  In  the  case  of  Industrial 
Schools  the  local  education  authority  is  required 
to  make  up  the  Treasury  Grant  to  a  certain 
amount,  usually  to  8^-.  per  head  per  week  (i.e. 
the  Treasury  Grant  being  ^s.  or  3.?,  6d.,  the 
Local  Authority  would  make  good  the  deficiency 
of  35-.  or  4.S.  6d.).  In  the  case  of  Reforma- 
tories any  deficiency  is  met  by  the  local  police 
authority.  The  Treasury  does  not  contribute 
towards  the  support  of  a  child  sent  at  the 
instance  of  the  Guardians,  nor  to  certain  of  the 
Education  Act  cases. 

Where  the   child  belongs  to  a  tramp,  there 


32  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

is  often  difficulty  in  ascertaining  which  local 
authority  is  responsible  for  its  maintenance. 
As  a  rule,  if  there  is  any  real  doubt,  the 
authority  which  charges  the  child  is  responsible. 
If  the  child  is  charged  with  some  offence  by 
an  authority  other  than  that  of  his  native 
place,  the  local  authority,  which  is  naturally 
responsible,  has  the  power  of  expressing  its 
opinion  before  the  child  is  committed. 

The  parents'  contributions  are  paid  direct 
to  the  Treasury  ;  the  amount  received  during 
191 1  was  ^25,360,  which  is  only  4  per  cent, 
of  the  total  receipts.  It  is  of  the  utmost 
importance,  wherever  possible,  that  the  parents 
should  contribute  towards  the  maintenance  of 
their  children,  and  legal  proceedings  may  be 
taken  against  them  if  it  is  considered  expe- 
dient. On  the  other  hand,  the  Secretary  of 
State  may  remit  the  whole  or  part  of  any 
payment  from  the  parents  if  they  are  known 
to  be  in  such  circumstances  that  any  con- 
tribution is  impossible. 

By  the  Education  Act  of  1870,  the  Local 
Education  Authorities  were  given  power  to 
establish  Industrial  Schools.  In  such  cases 
they  are  responsible  for  the  upkeep  of  the 
buildings  and  for  all  the  details  of  management. 
At  present  only  22  of  the  existing  112  Indus- 
trial Schools  are  owned  and  managed  by  the 
local    authorities,   and    of    these    7   belong   to 


METHODS  OF  FLNANCING  THE  SCHOOLS    33 

the    London    C.C.        The    L.C.C.    has    also 

definite  arrangements  with  55  Industrial  Schools 
and  24  Reformatories  ;  by  these  arrangements 
the  Managers  consent  to  have  a  certain 
number  of  L.C.C.  children  in  the  school,  and 
in  return  they  receive  a  definite  grant  per 
head.  There  are  three  grades  of  grants  ;  75., 
8^.,  gs.  for  girls,  and  Ss.,  gs.,  los.  for  boys. 
Should  the  L.C.C.  Inspectors  consider  the 
school  efficient  in  every  way,  it  is  given  the  top 
grant,  but  if  this  is  not  the  case  the  Managers 
have  to  be  content  with  less  financial  assistance 
until  the  necessary  alterations  are  made  ;  on 
the  other  hand,  if  there  is  any  considerable 
outlay  as  regards  the  buildings,  the  L.C.C. 
usually  contributes  something  towards  the 
expense.  It  also  makes  it  a  condition  of  their 
agreement  that  they  shall  be  allowed  to  have 
a  representative  on  the  Committee  of  Managers. 
There  is  little  doubt  that  at  present  the 
methods  of  financing  the  schools  are  radically 
wrong.  A  dependence  on  voluntary  contri- 
butions is  the  cause  of  much  that  is  least 
satisfactory  in  their  condition.  Not  only  is  it 
necessary  to  resort  to  unworthy  advertising, 
but  it  is  difficult  to  ensure  an  "  all  round " 
education  if  there  is  need  to  supplement  the 
school  income  by  the  young  delinquent's  earn- 
ings. Apart  from  these  important  considera- 
tions, the  unstable  financial  condition  of  the 
3 


34 


YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 


schools  means  in  many  cases  an  underpaid  staff 
and  inadequate  accommodation.  Until  they 
are  freed  from  this  serious  embarrassment  their 
work  will  be  hampered  in  every  direction. 

D — Receipts  and  Expenditure  for  the 
Schools  during  1911 


REFORMATORIES 

Receipts  ' 


Treasury  allowance      .... 
Payments  from  county  and  borough  rates 
Subscriptions,  legacies,  etc. 
Payments  from  voluntary  associations . 
Sundries,  interest  on  investments,  etc. 
Profit  on  industrial  departments,  including  hire  of 
labour:  England,  ;^3,774  ;  Scotland,  ;^586 


England. 

I 

73.721 

33,091 

2,739 

152 

2,308 

9,247 


Scotland. 

11,859 

5,439 

"3 

753 

1,587 

1,087 


Total 


;^I2I,258        ;^20,838 


Expenditure 


Officers'  salaries  and  rations 

Food  of  inmates  .... 

Clothing  of  inmates 

Rent  of  school  premises  and  interest 

Disposal  on  discharge . 

Loss  on  industrial  departments    . 

Building  and  Capital  Account 

Sundries,  including  furniture,  rates,  e 

Total    . 


£ 

28,651 

27,435 

13,361 

3,443 

5,439 

1,366 

8,834 
34.291 


4.457 
4,646 

2,561 

477 
6x8 

2,166 
6,670 


i:i22,82o      ;^2I,595 


'  In  addition  to  these  receipts  there  is  the  "Reformatory 
Aid  Grant "  of  ^8,000  per  annum  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Chief  Inspector. 


AVERAGE  COST  OF  MAINTENANCE      35 

The     amounts     received     from     parents    of 
juvenile  offenders  in   Reformatory  Schools  for 
1 9 1 1  were  : 

I        s.       d. 

England  and  Wales    .         .        .         .     7,103     2     i 
Scotland 569  16     6 


Total   .        .        .;^7,672  18     7 

The  average  cost  of  maintenance,  including 
rent  and  expenses  on  disposal,  and  allowing 
the  usual  set-off  for  the  profits  of  the  labour 
of  the  inmates,  was  : 

For  Boys' Reformatoriesin England,  ^25  lOi"., 
and  in  Scotland,  £26  i8i". 

For  Girls'  Reformatories  in  England,  ^25  2s., 
and  in  Scotland,  £2%  \2s. 

INDUSTRIAL   SCHOOLS 

Receipts 

England.       Scotland. 

£  £. 

Treasury  allowance 126,808  49,834 

Payments  from  county  and  borough  rates     \         ,^.  .,,^  t  .  «.- 

Payments  from  education  authorities,  etc.    ) 

Payments  from  parochial  authorities   .         .         .     20,122  1,002 

Subscriptions,  legacies,  etc.          ....     21,091  7,613 

Payments  for  voluntary  inmates  ....       7,109  3,629 

Profits   from    industrial   departments,    including 

hire  of  labour:  England,  £,'i,yT2.;  Scotland, 

;^i,078 12,432  4,197 

Total    .        .        .        ;^337,095     ;iC94.oi4 


36  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

Expenditure 

England.        Scotland. 
£>  £ 

Salaries 85,473         24,213 

Food 82,500  24,761 

Clothing 35,009  12,200 

Rent 7,117  1.920 

Disposal  on  discharge 12,067  2,281 

Building  and  Capital  Account      ....  13,855  3,387 

Loss  on  industrial  department      ....  2,258  133 

Sundries,  including  furniture,  rates,  etc.       .         .  98,713  24,475 

Total    .         .         .         £1^,6,992      ^93,370 

The  amounts  received  from  parents  of 
juvenile  offenders  in  Industrial  Schools  for 
191 1  were  : 

£  s.  d. 
England  and  Wales  ....  13,480  19  9 
Scotland 3,986  15     4 

Total    .         .         £\Ta(>7  is     I 

The  average  cost  of  maintenance,  including 
rent  and  expenses  of  disposal,  and  allowing 
the  usual  set-off  for  the  profits  of  the  labour 
of  the  inmates,  was  : 

For  Boys'  Industrial  Schools  in  England, 
£2^  2s.,  and  in  Scotland,  £20  "js. 

For  Girls'  Industrial  Schools  in  England, 
£2^^  55.,  and  in  Scotland,  £i<^  2s. 

E — Statistics  of  the  Number  of  Schools 
AND  THE  Number  of  Children  under 
Detention 

The  number  of  Reformatory  Schools  at  the 
end  of  1911   was  44,  viz.   37  in   England  and 


STATISTICS  OF  SCHOOLS 


37 


7   in   Scotland,  with  juveniles  under  detention 
as  in  the  following  table  : 


Boys. 

Girls. 

Number 

of 
Schools. 

Under 
Deten- 
tion. 

Number 

of 
Schools. 

Under 
Deten- 
tion. 

England — Protestant  . 

Roman  Catholic 
Scotland — Protestant  . 

Roman  Catholic 

23 

4 
4 

I 

3,716 
818 

434 
243 

8 

2 

2 

398 
91 

Total     . 

32 

5,211 

12 

642 

Including — On  licence 
In  prison  . 
Absconded 

— 

1,042 

3 
40 

— 

48 

I 

Total     . 

— 

1,085 

— 

49 

Number     actually    in     the 
schools 

— 

4,126 

— 

593 

The  number  of  boys  actually  in  the  schools 
at  the  end  of  the  previous  year  was  43  more, 
whilst  that  of  the  girls  was  3  more. 

The  admissions  to  Reformatory  Schools  in 
1911  were  1,380,  viz.  1,223  boys  and  157  girls, 
showing  a  decrease  of  77  boys  and  5  girls  as 
compared  with  19 10. 

The  average  number  of  boys  in  Reforma- 
tories is  about  130,  and  of  girls  it  is  50. 

The  number  of  Industrial  Schools  at  the  end 
of  191 1  was  145,  viz.  113  (including  12  special 
schools)  in  England  and  32  (including  1  special 


38 


YOUNG   DELLNQUENTS 


school)  in   Scotland,  with  juveniles  under  de- 
tention as  in  the  following  table  : 


Boys. 

Girls. 

Number 

of 
Schools. 

Under 
Deten- 
tion. 

Number 

of 
Schools. 

Under 
Deten- 
tion. 

England — Protestant 

Roman  Catholic     . 

Jewish    . 
Scotland — Protestant 

Roman  Catholic     . 

52 

15 
I 

13 

3 

6,972 
2,312 

83 
2,263 

29 

ID 

I 
12 

3 

2,012 
914 

59 
952 

515 

Total 

84 

12,180 

55 

4,452 

Including — On  licence    . 
Absconding . 
In  working  homes 



757 
28 

155 

— 

312 

7 
8 

Total 

— 

940 

— 

327 

Number  actually  in  the  schools 

' 

11,240 

— 

4.  J  25 

The  admissions  to  Industrial  Schools  in  19 11 
were  3,475,  viz.  2,607  boys  and  868  girls, 
showing  an  increase  of  206  boys  and  an  in- 
crease of  3  girls  as  compared  with  19 10. 

The  average  number  in  boys'  Industrial 
Schools  is  140,  and  in  girls'  it  is  80. 


F — Organization  of  the  Schools 

Certification  and  Inspection 

By    section    45    of    the    Children    Act    the 
Secretary  of  State  may,,  upon  the  application 


CERTIFICATION  OF  SCHOOLS  39 

of  the  Managers  of  any  Reformatory  or  In- 
dustrial School,  direct  the  Chief  Inspector  to 
examine  into  the  condition  and  regulations  of 
the  school,  and  its  fitness  for  the  reception 
of  youthful  offenders.  If  the  report  of  the 
school  is  satisfactory  it  is  placed  amongst  the 
ranks  of  the  Certified  Schools.  The  Secretary 
of  State  has  power  at  any  time  to  withdraw 
the  certificate  if  he  is  dissatisfied  with  the 
condition  or  management  of  the  school ;  in 
such  an  instance  as  this  the  Managers  would 
be  given  six  months'  notice.  If,  however,  the 
defects  of  the  school  can  be  remedied  the 
school  need  only  be  closed  for  such  time  as 
is  specified  in  the  notice  sent  to  the  Managers. 
Managers  wishing  to  resign  the  certificate  of 
the  school  must  give  at  least  one  month's 
notice  to  the  Secretary  of  State  ;  in  the  case 
of  the  withdrawal  or  resignation  of  the  certi- 
ficate the  children  are  sent  to  some  other 
Certified  School.  The  same  power  of  certi- 
fication is  attached  to  Auxiliary  Homes  and 
Hostels  which  may  be  organized  in  connection 
with  any  Certified  School  or  group  of  schools, 
and  for  purposes  of  certification  any  such  home 
is  considered  to  be  part  of  the  school. 

The  Secretary  of  State  appoints  a  Chief  In- 
spector of  Industrial  and  Reformatory  Schools, 
and  as  many  assistant  inspectors  as  the 
Treasury  may  approve,  and  as  are  necessary 


40  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

for  efficient  work.  The  assistant  inspectors 
have  many  of  the  powers  and  duties  of  the 
Chief  Inspector,  but  they  always  act  under 
his  direction  ;  at  present  the  Chief  Inspector 
is  assisted  by  six  inspectors  and  assistant  in- 
spectors, one  of  whom  is  a  woman.  Since 
August  1 910  there  has  been  a  part-time  medical 
adviser,  who  occasionally  visits  the  schools. 
Every  Certified  School  must  be  inspected  at 
least  once  a  year,  and  it  is  usual  for  the  in- 
spectors to  pay  a  surprise  visit  as  well. 

The  work  of  the  inspectors  is  extremely 
responsible  and  difficult ;  they  need  to  have 
a  remarkable  insight,  not  only  into  external 
matters  of  cleanliness  and  hygiene,  but  also 
into  the  characters  of  the  staffj  and  of  the 
boys  and  girls.  They  must  be  able  to  detect 
the  least  sign  of  repression  or  discontent,  and 
yet  at  the  same  time  always  be  willing  to 
enter  into  the  various  difficulties  of  the  Super- 
intendents and  their  assistants.  It  was  recently 
said  that  it  is  not  so  much  a  case  of  inspecting 
as  "a  question  of  sympathizing,  counselling, 
and  of  friendship." ' 

Duties  and  Powers  of  Managers 

Section  53  of  the  Children  Act  deals  with 
the  liability  of  Managers.  Once  that  they 
have  consented  to  accept  a  child,  or  youthful 

*  Farewell  presentation  to  the  late  Chief  Inspector. 


BOARDING   OUT  41 

offender,  they  are  responsible  for  his  welfare 
as  long  as  he  is  detained  in  the  school.  They 
have  also  the  power  to  board  out  a  child  under 
8  until  the  age  of  lo  years,  and  with  the 
consent  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  as  much 
longer  as  they  think  advisable  in  the  interests 
of  the  child.  The  numbers  dealt  with  since 
the  passing  of  the  Children  Act  are  as 
follows  : 

1909 2  girls,  I  boy. 

1910 I  girl,    6  boys. 

191 1 none,    8  boys. 

In  191 1,  143  of  the  boys  and  girls  admitted 
to  Industrial  Schools  were  under  6  years  of 
age,  and  328  were  from  6  to  8  years  of  age. 
These  figures  show  how  little  Managers  have 
availed  themselves  of  this  power  of  "  boarding- 
out  "  the  younger  children.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  in  the  future  they  will  realize  the  natural 
advantages  of  family  life,  and  endeavour  to 
find  suitable  foster-homes.  In  all  cases  where 
the  child  is  boarded  out  he  is  considered  to 
be  under  detention  in  the  school,  and  may  be 
recalled  at  any  time  if  the  foster-parents  should 
fail  in  their  duties  towards  him. 

Rules  made  by  the  Managers  for  the  manage- 
ment of  the  school  are  always  subject  to  the 
Secretary  of  State's  approval,  and  the  same 
applies  to  any  substantial  addition  or  alteration 
to    the    buildings.        In    addition    to    this    the 


42  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

Managers  of  any  school,  or  group  of  schools, 
have  power  to  establish  a  scheme  of  super- 
annuation for  the  officers,  on  condition  that 
the  scheme  is  in  accordance  with  the  Super- 
annuation Act  of  1866.  The  expenses  incurred 
under  any  such  scheme  are  treated  as  part  of 
the  management  expenses. 

A  large  majority  of  men  is  an  almost  universal 
feature  of  school  committees  ;  at  present  there 
are  actually  4  Girls'  Reformatories,  41  Boys' 
Industrial  Schools,  and  7  Girls'  Industrial 
Schools,  with  no  women  Managers.  There 
can  be  few  finer  openings  for  women's  work 
than  sharing  in  the  management  of  Certified 
Schools,  where  there  is  infinite  need  for  their 
comparatively  greater  leisure  and  quicker  in- 
sight and  sympathy.  Both  sexes  should  be 
represented  on  every  Committee  of  Managers, 
and  there  should  always  be  one  or  two  working- 
class  members,  whose  first-hand  experience  of 
actual  conditions  would  be  invaluable. 

The  committees  are  usually  composed  of 
magistrates,  doctors,  clergymen,  retired  mili- 
tary and  naval  officers,  and  county  or  city 
magnates.  They  have  not  been  usually  chosen 
for  business  capacity,  or  for  their  understanding 
of  child  nature,  but  more  often  because  their 
names  may  bring  "  kudos  "  to  the  school,  which 
is  sometimes  largely  dependent  on  voluntary 
contributions.     The  existing  method  of  appoint- 


THE   MANAGERS  43 

ing  Managers  is  eminently  unsatisfactory.  In 
future  it  may  be  necessary  for  them  to  be 
appointed  by  local  authorities,  with  power  to 
co-opt  one-third  of  their  number  as  a  safeguard 
against  officialism. 

It  would  appear  that  the  school  authorities 
are  often  more  anxious  to  create  a  good  pattern 
and  to  secure  satisfactory  general  results  than 
to  build  up  strong  individual  characters.  Many 
Managers,  when  they  visit  the  school,  like  to 
see  the  boys  salute  smartly,  the  girls  cease 
their  work,  and  all  rise  quickly  as  they  enter 
the  room,  with  a  chorus  of  "Good  afternoon, 
ma'am,"  or  "  Good  morning,  sir,"  as  the  case 
may  be.  They  seldom  make  any  efforts  to 
become  really  acquainted  with  individual  boys 
and  girls.  It  might  be  advisable  if  the 
Managers  would  adopt  something  similar  to 
the  attitude  of  the  "  Big  Brothers"  in  New 
York.  The  "  Big  Brothers,"  many  of  whom 
are  well-to-do  city  men,  have  each  adopted  a 
young  boot-black  or  newspaper  vendor  and 
treat  them  as  young  brothers.  In  the  city 
men's  attitude  there  is  no  suggestion  of  the 
condescension  which  is  so  fatal  to  real  friend- 
ship. "  Big  Brothers"  and  "  Little  Brothers" 
alike  realize  that  there  is  much  to  be  gained  by 
their  mutual  intercourse.  If  the  Managers  are 
willing,  as  they  have  been  in  a  few  schools,  to 
become   real   friends  to  the  boys  and  girls,   it 


44 


YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 


will  be  possible  to  avoid  the  risk  involved  by 
the  schools'  dependence  on  voluntary  contribu- 
tions, and  so  show  the  desirability  of  having 
State  -  controlled  schools  under  voluntary 
management, 

G — Difference  between   Reformatory  and 
Industrial  Schools 

The  boys  and  girls  in  Reformatory  and  In- 
dustrial Schools  belong  to  the  same  social  class, 
the  most  obvious  difference  between  the  two 
types  of  schools  being  the  one  of  age.  The 
rules  are  practically  identical,  except  that  in 
Reformatories  the  hours  of  labour  are  some- 
what longer  and  punishment  may  be  more 
severe  ;  the  sole  reason  for  this  is  the  greater 
age  of  the  young  delinquents.  The  following 
figures  show  the  ages  on  admission  of  the  boys 
and  girls  committed  to  both  classes  of  school 
during  191 1  : 

reformatories 


Boys. 

Girls 

From  12  to  14      .         .         .         .         370 

25 

,,      14  to  16      .         .          .          .         852 

128 

INDUSTRIAL   SCHOOLS 

Under  6 7° 

73 

From    6  to  8        .         .         .         .         201 

127 

,,       8  to  10      .         .         .         .         465 

159 

„     10  to  12      .         .         .         .         877 

238 

Over  12 994 

271 

DIFFERENTIATION  45 

In  Reformatories  the  age  varies  from  12 
to  18  years,  the  average  age  being  usually 
16;  recently  the  average  age  of  admission  to 
both  classes  of  schools  has  become  consider- 
ably higher  owing  to  the  reluctance  of  many 
maofistrates  to  commit  children  to  schools  when 
the  Probation  System  provides  for  them  more 
cheaply.  A  more  serious  result  of  this  mis- 
taken economy  has  been  that  often,  especially 
in  the  case  of  Reformatories,  the  boys  and  girls 
are  committed  after  a  third  or  fourth  conviction, 
and  so  they  are  on  their  way  to  become  habitual 
delinquents  before  they  are  removed  from  their 
home  surroundings.  The  maximum  age  of 
detention  in  Industrial  Schools  is  16  years; 
the  average  age  of  the  children  now  in  the 
schools  is  12  to  13  years. 

Offence 

The  older  delinquents  in  Reformatories  are 
committed  for  more  or  less  serious  offences  ; 
they  must  have  been  convicted  of  an  offence 
punishable  in  the  case  of  an  adult  with  penal 
servitude  or  imprisonment  (see  Appendix  A). 
The  younger  delinquents  in  Industrial  Schools 
are  prevented  by  the  fact  of  their  extreme 
youth  from  being  anything  but  vagrants  or 
petty  thieves.  They  are  more  often  neglected 
or  abused,    and    have    committed    no   offence 


46  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

themselves.  The  number  of  children  com- 
mitted for  a  punishable  offence  is  comparatively 
small.  The  following  are  particulars  of  the 
admissions  to  a  typical  Reformatory  and  Indus- 
trial School  : 

At  Redhill  Reformatory,  of  83  boys  admitted 
during  19 10, 

74  were  convicted  of  stealing  and  burglary. 
2     ,,  „  ,,  common  assault. 

4     ,,  ,,         ,,  begging  and  wandering. 

I  was  ,,  ,,  indecency. 

1  was  committed  from  an  Industrial  School 

for  breaking  the  rules. 

At  Clifton  Industrial  School,  of  43  boys 
admitted  during  19 10, 

19  were  committed  for  begging  and  wander- 
ing. 

12     ,,  „  ,,     being  charged  with  a 

punishable  offence. 
6     ,,  ,,     under  the  Education  Act. 

2  ,,  ,,     for  residing  in  brothels. 

4     ,,  ,,       ,,   being   uncontrollable    by 

parents  or  guardians. 

•'  Conviction''  to  a  Reformatory  School 

The  most  important  difference  between  the 
two  classes  of  schools  is  that  a  child  is  "  con- 
victed "  when  sent  to  a  Reformatory,  whereas 


RESULTS  OF  A  "CONVICTION"  47 

he  or  she  is  only  "  committed  "  when  sent  to 
an  Industrial  School.  The  Reformatory  School 
boy  and  girl  carry  the  stigma  of  the  "  convic- 
tion "  for  the  remainder  of  their  lives  ;  the  navy 
refuses  to  have  boys  who  have  been  "  con- 
victed," and  for  a  time  Canada  closed  her  doors 
to  them. 

It  is  a  fact  that  two  boys,  one  just  under 
12  and  the  other  just  over  12  years  of 
age,  with  the  same  home  conditions,  may  be 
guilty  of  exactly  the  same  offence,  and  the  one 
will  be  sent  to  an  Industrial  School  and  the 
other  to  a  Reformatory.  At  the  schools  they 
may  have  exactly  the  same  training,  but  the 
latter  will  always  bear  the  stigma  of  his  convic- 
tion, and  his  ultimate  career  will  be  unnecessarily 
hampered.  The  atmy  admits  boys  who  have 
been  convicted,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note 
that  4,565  Home  Office  School  boys  fought  in 
the  South  African  War,  and  of  these, 

4  were  specially  mentioned  in  dispatches. 
10  won  distinguished  service  medals. 

2      ,,     commissions. 

4  ,,  the  Victoria  Cross. 
Almost  as  serious  a  stigma  is  attached  to  the 
name  "  Reformatory,"  and  therefore  many 
schools  avoid  the  name.  Redhill  Reformatory 
is  known  as  "  The  Farm  School"  ;  Kenilworth 
Girls*  Reformatory  is  known  as  "  The  Training 
Home."     Changing  the  name,   however,  does 


48  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

not  prevent  the  boys  and  girls  from  going  out 
into  the  world  unnecessarily  hampered  by  the 
old  "  conviction." 

Superintendents  have  known  of  former  pupils 
who  have  married  and  hold  responsible  posi- 
tions, yet  the  constant  dread  hangs  over  them 
of  the  family  and  friends  hearing  of  their  con- 
viction to  a  Reformatory,  which  may  have  been 
the  penalty  for  some  childish  indiscretion.  The 
fact  that  a  child  has  been  guilty  of  some  offence 
involving  the  charge  of  dishonesty  does  not 
necessarily  mean  that  he  or  she  has  definite 
criminal  tendencies,  but  rather  such  an  offence 
is  often  the  result  of  their  youth,  and  when 
they  reach  a  more  mature  age  any  such  tendency 
disappears. 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE   PHYSICAL  AND   MENTAL  CONDITION    OF    THE 
BOYS   AND  GIRLS   IN   CERTIFIED   SCHOOLS 

A — Their    Inferior   General   Condition   at   the   Time   of  their 

Committal. 
B — Some  Comparative  Statistics. 
C-7-Medical  Care  of  the  Schools. 
D— Diet. 
E — School  Buildings  and  Equipment. 

A — Their  Inferior   General  Condition  at 
THE  Time  of  Their  Committal 

THERE  can  be  no  doubt  that  at  the  time 
of  committal  to  Certified  Schools  the 
majority  of  juvenile  delinquents  are  inferior 
physically  to  the  general  population  of  a 
similar  age.  Dr.  Morrison  believes  this  in- 
feriority is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  so 
many  of  them  lose  one  or  both  parents  at  an 
early  age,  and  premature  death,  when  not 
produced  by  violence,  is  a  sure  sign  of  feeble 
vitality.  Of  the  3,266  children  committed  to 
Industrial     Schools    during     the     year     19 10, 

4  49 


50  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

29  per  cent,  were  orphaned  and  6  per  cent, 
were  illegitimate.  When,  in  addition  to  this, 
the  poor  condition  of  the  great  majority  of 
their  homes  is  taken  into  consideration,  the 
fact  of  their  physical  inferiority  is  not  a  matter 
for  wonder. 


B — Some  Comparative  Statistics 

It  is  difficult  to  compare  the  physique  of  the 
inmates  of  Certified  Schools  with  that  of  other 
children  of  a  similar  age,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  it  is  not  possible  to  find  a  really  adequate 
standard  of  judgment.  Height  and  weight  are 
not  necessarily  the  most  important  tests.  A 
small,  slim  child  is  sometimes  more  physically 
sound  than  one  of  a  heavier  build.  The 
medical  officer  of  the  Leicester  Education 
Committee  has  recently  made  some  interesting 
comparisons  of  boys  in  Secondary,  Elementary, 
and  Industrial  Schools.  The  children  in 
Elementary  Schools  were  divided  into  three 
groups,  A,  B,  and  C,  according  to  the  hygienic 
condition  of  their  homes  ;  the  boys  under 
group  C  come  from  the  poorest  class  of 
home,  and  are  therefore  most  comparable  with 
the  boys  in  the  Industrial  Schools.  The 
following  statistics  show  the  result  of  the 
comparison  : 


COMPARATIVE  STATISTICS 


51 


Secondary 
Schools. 

Elementary  Schools. 

Industrial 

A. 

B. 

C. 

Cue 

4-» 

s: 
be 

s 

M 

4J 

4J 

16 

4J 

JS 
ho 

4-» 

J3 
tUO 

2 
bt 

be 

4.* 

JS 

ba 

V 

be 

< 

0) 

0) 

V 

X 

X 

5 
X 

^ 

in. 

lb. 

in. 

lb. 

in. 

lb. 

in. 

lb. 

in. 

lb. 

8-q 

— 

— 

47' 5 

57-9 

46-9 

53-8 

46-8 

50-9 

43-5 

45'3 

9-10 

51 -o 

59'o 

50*2 

5^^-2 

497 

569 

48-8 

54'9 

477 

502 

lO-II 

5374 

67-S 

SI -9 

64 '5 

507 

60-9 

50-5 

59-5 

49-8 

59-5 

II-I2 

54'5 

70-0 

S3 -2 

67-5 

52-8 

66-6 

51-5 

64  "2 

50-4 

67-8 

12-13 

57-5 

7875 

S6-8 

73-(> 

55-6 

73-6 

53'9 

68-6 

53-3 

71  3 

13-14 

59-6 

89-5 

57-6 

82-3 

56-8 

79-8 

55-2 

73-b 

54-2 

75-2 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  boys  in  the  Industrial 
Schools  are  stunted  in  height,  and  are  of  less 
weight  than  those  in  the  Elementary  Schools, 
but  it  appears  that  after  some  time  the  regular 
feeding  and  healthier  conditions  of  living 
result  in  the  recovery  of  some  of  the  lost 
ground  in  regard  to  weight,  which  is  greater 
than  that  in  group  C,  while  the  height  re- 
mains inferior.  These  statistics  do  not  neces- 
sarily prove  that  the  muscular  development 
and  state  of  nutrition  of  an  Industrial  School 
boy  is  inferior  to  that  of  the  average  boy  in 
an  Elementary  School,  but  rather  do  they 
prove  that  although  it  is  possible  to  modify 
the  effects  of  heredity  it  can  never  be  really 
overcome,  the  children  of  stunted  and  ill- 
nourished  parents  starting  life  with  a  great 
handicap. 

Although  the  Leicester  school  is  very  repre- 


52  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

sentative,  the  physical  condition  of  children  in 
that  town  may  be  very  different  from  that  of 
other  towns,  therefore  these  statistics  must 
simply  be  taken  on  their  own  merits.  They 
undoubtedly  prove  the  necessity  of  doing 
everything  possible  to  improve  the  physical 
well-being  of  the  children  who  are  sent  to 
Certified  Schools. 

C — Medical  Care  of  the  Schools 

No  child  is  admitted  to  a  Certified  School 
who  is  an  unfit  subject  for  industrial  training. 
The  persons  responsible  for  the  committal  are 
required  to  fill  in  a  detailed  medical  form 
stating  the  physical  and  mental  condition  of 
the  child  and,  as  far  as  possible,  of  the  parents. 
This  form  has  to  be  passed  by  the  school 
medical  officer  before  the  child  is  admitted  ; 
if  he  passes  it  he  himself  examines  the  child 
immediately  upon  its  arrival ;  the  discharges 
on  account  of  unfitness  for  reformatory  and 
industrial  training  are  therefore  very  few. 
During  1910  the  number  per  thousand  inmates 
of  the  Reformatories  was  2"  16,  and  in  the 
Industrial  Schools  it  was   1*47. 

Dr.  Branthwaite,  who  has  recently  been 
appointed  medical  adviser  to  the  Home  Office 
Schools,  in  his  report  for  1910  writes:  "  Of 
about  700  boys  examined  in  a  naked  state, 
roughly  about  85  per  cent,  of  those  who  have 


MEDICAL  ADVISER^S  REPORT  53 

been  under  detention  two  years  or  longer 
were  well  nourished  and  of  good  physique. 
New  admissions,  or  boys  who  have  been 
under  detention  for  short  periods  only,  were 
found  to  be  poor  in  these  respects  ;  therefore, 
arguing  from  appearances,  it  is  probable  that 
at  least  85  per  cent,  may  be  expected  to 
become  physically  strong  under  prevailing  con- 
ditions. Of  the  remaining  15  per  cent,  about 
two-thirds  were  found  to  be  moderately  well 
developed,  fit  for  occupations  requiring  no 
more  than  moderate  physical  strength,  and 
the  remaining  third  weaklings  who  are  un- 
likely to  become  fit  for  any  physical  employ- 
ment. .  .  .  The  general  health  of  the  schools 
has  been  good  throughout  the  year,  remark- 
ably so  when  it  is  realized  how  much  risk  of 
infection  must  result  from  the  constant 
admission  and  readmission  of  children  from 
some  of  the  most  congested  and  insanitary 
areas  of  our  large  towns.  Moreover,  the 
majority  of  newly  admitted  children  are  ill-fed, 
ill-nourished,  and  of  low  vitality,  and  therefore 
more  liable  to  contract  disease  during  the  first 
few  months  of  school  detention  than  later, 
when  good  feeding  and  care  have  resulted  in 
improvement.  .  .  ." 

It  is  now  generally  admitted  that  apart  from 
hereditary  mental  deficiency,  bodily  degeneracy 
has  a  tendency  to  produce  mental  degeneracy, 


54  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

and  hence  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
many  of  the  boys  and  girls  are  mentally 
deficient.  Miss  Mary  Dendy,  who  has  studied 
the  question  of  feeble-minded  children  very 
closely,  considers  the  most  common  features  of 
such  children  to  be  "  the  want  of  inhibition, 
the  want  of  will,  the  readiness  to  obey  irration- 
ally, the  absence  of  any  sense  of  right  or 
wrong,  and  the  incapacity  to  be  educated  into 
the  ordinary  routine  of  a  school,  or  of  a  society, 
without  constant  direction  from  a  stronger 
mind."  The  experience  of  many  Certified 
School  teachers  has  been  that  these  short- 
comings are  exactly  those  that  make  their 
work  so  difficult,  and  therefore  the  urgency  of 
making  separate  provisions  for  the  mentally 
deficient  children  is  very  apparent.  It  is 
almost  impossible  to  give  them  the  right 
amount  of  supervision  when  the  school  is 
organized  for  the  training  of  normal  children. 
It  has  to  be  remembered  that  although  a 
certain  proportion  of  the  inmates  of  the  schools 
are  definitely  feeble-minded,  there  are  a  number 
of  others  who  are  dull  sim.ply  as  a  result  of 
illness  and  bad  conditions  of  life,  and  when 
the  environment  and  physical  care  of  the 
schools  has  had  time  to  take  effect  they  will 
lose  all  trace  of  their  deficiency.  Everything 
points  to  the  conclusion  that  the  physical  and 
mental  condition  of  the  majority  of  the   boys 


THE   MEDICAL   OFFICERS  55 

and  girls  during  their  detention  in  the  schools 
is  considerably  improved  as  a  result  of  regular 
food,  sufficient  sleep,  and  systematic  medical 
supervision. 

The  Committee  of  Managers  appoints  a 
medical  officer  who  visits  the  schools  at 
regular  intervals,  in  some  instances  every 
week  ;  and  if  there  is  any  illness  he  comes 
as  often  as  is  necessary.  There  is  little  doubt 
that  the  medical  care  of  Certified  School  children 
might  more  often  be  given  to  women  doctors, 
at  any  rate  they  might  have  charge  of  the 
girls'  schools.  Great  progress  has  lately  been 
made  with  regard  to  the  care  of  the  teeth  ; 
a  few  schools  have  appointed  a  dentist  who 
makes  a  regular  examination  of  each  child,  and 
in  some  places  the  care  of  the  eyes  and  ears 
is  equally  considered,  but  with  the  majority  of 
schools  there  is  still  considerable  room  for 
improvement.  The  Medical  Adviser  to  the 
Home  Office  Schools,  in  his  report  for  1910, 
says:  "  All  the  Medical  Officers  I  have  inter- 
viewed are  men  of  good  standing  ;  generally 
the  best  known  in  the  neighbourhood  of  each 
school.  As  a  whole,  I  believe  they  give  a 
much  larger  amount  of  attention  to  their 
schools  than  they  are  paid  to  give,  and,  as  I 
have  good  reason  to  know,  do  not  grudge  any 
time  or  trouble  in  case  of  necessity." 


56  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

D— Diet 

The  importance  of  diet  cannot  be  over- 
estimated. Dr.  Leslie  Mackenzie,  the  Medical 
Inspector  to  the  L.G.B.  of  Scotland,  considers 
that  of  the  three  selective  agencies,  housing, 
occupation,  and  feeding — "  unquestionably  the 
most  important  is  feeding."  "  By  correct  diet 
we  mean  a  diet  where  the  proportions  of  tissue- 
forming  elements  are  in  the  proportions  neces- 
sary both  to  satisfy  immediate  physiological 
conditions  and  to  preserve  the  physiological 
equilibrium  in  the  growing  organism.  The 
science  of  diet  is  sufficiently  elaborated  to 
permit  of  precise  quantitive  prescriptions — 
maximal  and  minimal."  ^ 

Want  of  nutrition  may  have  a  twofold  effect, 
either  dulling  the  child's  mind,  or  developing 
an  unhealthy  and  morbid  activity.  Dr.  Arkle, 
in  giving  evidence  before  the  recent  Poor  Law 
Commission,  explained  that  "  Starvation  act- 
ing on  a  nervous  temperament  seems  to  produce 
a  sort  of  acute  precocious  cleverness  .  .  .  but 
it  is  the  eager  intelligence  of  the  hunting 
animal,  with  every  faculty  strained  to  the 
uttermost,  so  as  to  miss  no  opportunity  of 
obtaining  good.  It  is  from  this  class  that 
the  ranks  of  pilferers  and  sneak-thieves  come, 
and  their  cleverness  is  not  of  any  intellectual 

»  "  The  Medical  Care  of  Schools,"  Leslie  Mackenzie. 


DIET  57 

value.  With  children  of  a  more  lymphatic 
tendency  starvation  seems  to  produce  creatures 
more  like  automata.  They  seem  to  be  in  a 
condition  of  semi-torpor,  unable  to  concentrate 
their  attention  on  anything,  and  taking  no 
notice  of  their  surroundings  if  left  alone."  ^ 
Besides  accounting  for  the  inferior  physical 
condition  of  the  children  when  they  come  to 
the  schools,  this  proves  the  necessity  of  giving 
them  a  generous  diet. 

As  a  rule  the  food  given  the  children  is 
wholesome  and  sufficient  ;  in  every  case  the 
dietary  has  to  be  approved  by  the  school 
medical  officer  and  the  Government  inspector. 
Dr.  Branthwaite,  in  his  report  for  191 1, 
writes:  ''During  the  medical  inspection  of 
schools,  three  faults  have  been  evident — a 
tendency  to  monotony  in  food  supplied,  cold 
service,  and  hurried  eating."  He  suggests 
that  the  diet  scale  should  extend  over  two  or 
even  three  weeks,  and  he  includes  in  his  report 
a  suggestion  for  a  more  varied  dietary  and 
methods  for  overcoming  the  difficulties  of 
ensuring  warm  service  and  unhurried  meals 
(Appendixes  C,  D,  and  E).  It  may  not  be  wise 
to  have  a  wholly  vegetarian  diet,  but  much 
benefit  would  be  derived  from  a  greater  amount 
of  fruit  and  vegetables,  Coventry  Girls'  School 
finds,  however,   that  a  strictly  vegetarian  diet 

^  The  Poor  Law  Commission  (Minority  Report). 


58  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

has  a  wonderfully  beneficial  result  on  the  girls' 
general  health.  Unfortunately  in  some  of  the 
poorer  schools  there  is  risk  of  too  rigid 
economy  in  the  matter  of  food.  The  periodical 
medical  examination  of  each  child  is  a  safe- 
guard, and  on  the  whole  there  is  every  reason 
to  believe  that  in  the  majority  of  schools  the 
children  have  adequate  nourishment. 

E — School   Buildings  and  Equipment 

The  actual  buildings  of  the  schools  vary 
considerably,  many  being  originally  residential 
houses  which  have  been  adapted  to  meet  the 
needs  of  the  school.  In  matters  of  hygiene 
all  have  to  satisfy  the  Government  inspectors  ; 
but  in  some  of  the  older  buildings  there  is  still 
a  risk  of  overcrowding  in  the  dormitories,  and 
it  is  to  be  feared  that  the  washing  apparatus  is 
often  hopelessly  inadequate.  The  lavatories 
are  damp  and  dark  and  the  basins  and  baths 
are  of  an  unsatisfactory  pattern,  and  if  the 
schools  are  visited  at  the  end  of  the  week,  the 
towels  are  sometimes  found  to  be  in  a  filthy 
condition.  The  wisdom  of  changing  the  towels 
in  the  middle  of  the  week  is  apparently  not 
always  realized.  In  many  schools,  however, 
there  is  little  to  be  desired  in  this  respect,  and 
the  boys  and  girls  quickly  respond  to  the  high 
standard  of  cleanliness.      A   number  of  boys' 


BUILDINGS   AND   EQUIPMENT  59 

schools  have  their  own  swimming  baths,  and 
those  that  are  not  so  fortunate  avail  them- 
selves generally  of  a  neighbouring  public  bath 
during  the  summer  months. 

In  matters  of  decoration   there  is  need  for 
considerable  improvement.     The  walls   of  the 
rooms  are  often   particularly  dark  and  dreary, 
and  they  are  destitute  of  pictures  other  than 
those  taken  from  illustrated  papers  ;  the  subject 
of  the  pictures  being,  as  a  rule,  either  unsuitable 
or  meaningless.     There  is  seldom  any  sugges- 
tion   of  homeliness,    and    there    are   very   few 
opportunities  for  the  boys  and  girls  to  realize 
the  pleasure  of  ownership.     In  addition  to  this 
serious  shortcoming  in  the  school  management, 
there  is  little  effort  made  to  create  a  standard 
of    refinement.       The     meals    are    sometimes 
served  in  an  almost  revolting  manner,  the  food 
being  shovelled  on  to  coarse  enamel  plates,  the 
tablecloth  anything    but   white,  and  the  bread 
cut  too   thick  to  be  eaten  decently.     Happily 
such   methods    as    these   do    not   exist    in   the 
majority    of  schools,    for    many  are    trying  to 
secure    a    more    home-like    appearance.     The 
mistake    has    been    in    the  past   to    lower   the 
standard    of  refinement   to    the    unfortunately 
low  level  of  the  children,  instead  of  educating 
them  to  appreciate  a  higher  standard  than  they 
had  known  in  their  home  life.     Managers  are 
often  fearful  of  "  spoiling"  the  boys  and  girls. 


60  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

They  argue,  for  example,  that  it  is  unwise  to 
give  them  fine  bath-rooms,  if  for  the  greater 
part  of  their  lives  they  must  be  content  with 
the  minimum  of  washing  apparatus.  There  is, 
however,  a  middle  course,  and  without  accus- 
toming the  boys  and  girls  to  undue  luxury, 
much  may  be  done  to  help  them  form  a 
standard  of  what  is  right  and  necessary  in 
matters  of  personal  hygiene. 

With  girls  it  is  particularly  necessary  that 
they  should  have  some  scope  to  cultivate  a 
little  "  house  pride."  At  a  Roman  Catholic 
Reformatory  each  girl  has  a  little  cupboard  by 
her  bed-side  and  a  small  strip  of  carpet ;  and 
every  morning  she  has  to  make  her  own  bed, 
dust  her  own  ornaments,  polish  the  floor  round 
the  bed,  and  sweep  the  carpet.  In  another 
Roman  Catholic  School,  before  a  girl  leaves 
to  go  to  service,  a  corner  of  the  dormitory 
is  screened  off  and  made  to  look  as  much 
as  possible  like  a  little  room,  with  chest  of 
drawers,  washstand,  and  chair,  so  that  besides 
learning  to  keep  her  own  room  tidy,  she 
becomes  accustomed  to  the  sensation  of  sleep- 
ing alone.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that 
the  girls,  of  whom  the  majority  will  eventually 
have  homes  of  their  own,  should  acquire  a 
right  standard  in  such  matters  as  decoration 
and  household  management. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   SUPERINTENDENT  AND  THE   STAFF  OF 
REFORMATORY  AND  INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOLS 

A — Difficulties  and  Responsibilities  of  a  Superintendent. 
B — Women  Members  of  the  Staff  of  Boys'  Schools. 
C — Exclusion  of  Men  from  some  of  the  Girls'  Schools. 
D — Difficulties  and  Responsibilities  of  the  Staff. 

A— Difficulties  and  Responsibilities  of  a 
Superintendent 

THE  success  of  the  school  rests  almost  en- 
tirely with  the  Superintendents.  Beautiful 
surroundings  and  the  most  modern  equipment 
are  as  nothing  compared  to  their  influence. 
Their  opportunities  are  manifold,  but  their 
difficulties  at  times  seem  to  be  insurmountable. 
Unlike  other  head  teachers,  the  burden  of  the 
whole  school  rests  upon  their  shoulders,  and 
they  are  in  fact  the  main-springs  of  their 
institutions.  Not  only  are  they  responsible 
for  the  intellectual  training  given  to  the  boys 
and  girls  in  their  charge,  but  they  are  also 
responsible  for  their  physical  welfare  and  the 
building  up  of  their  characters.  If,  in  addition 
to  this,  it  is  remembered  that  the  boys  and  girls 

61 


62  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

are,  as  a  rule,  the  victims  of  parental  incom- 
petence and  an  unmoral  environment,  it  will  be 
realized  that  the  Superintendents  of  Certified 
Schools  are  faced  with  very  special  difficulties. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  there  are  few 
positions  which  are  more  exacting.  The  boys 
and  girls  leave  school  when  their  characters 
are  beginning  to  respond  to  the  training,  and 
they  have  acquired  some  degree  of  efficiency 
in  their  work  ;  while  with  the  new-comers  the 
Superintendents  have  to  start  again  with  as 
much  hopefulness  as  if  they  had  never  known 
failure  or  disappointment.  The  members  of 
the  staff  are  not  always  dependable,  and  often 
the  Managers  take  very  little  active  interest 
in  the  school.  Moreover,  the  employers  of 
former  pupils  are  generally  more  critical  than 
helpful.  At  the  same  time  the  Government 
regulations  are  increasingly  exacting,  and  con- 
stantly involve  additional  office  work.  In  spite 
of  all  these  difficulties  the  Superintendents 
have  to  retain  their  position  as  wise  adminis- 
trators and  sympathetic  counsellors  to  a  little 
community  in  which  the  members  are  as  varied 
as  are  their  individual  needs.  Unfortunately 
they  have  often  to  continue  bearing  this  burden 
longer  than  is  wise  for  them  or  for  those  com- 
mitted to  their  care.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
some  Government  scheme  of  superannuation 
will  come  to  their  assistance  in  the  near  future. 


THE   SUPERINTENDENT  63 

To  those  familiar  with  Certified  Schools  it 
is  quite  apparent  that  in  many  cases  the 
Superintendents  act  as  real  parents  to  the 
boys  and  girls,  many  of  whom  have  little 
idea  of  what  it  is  to  be  loved.  "  Love  is  a 
great  teacher,  and  able  both  to  withdraw  men 
from  error  and  to  reform  the  character,  and 
to  lead  them  by  the  hand  and  out  of  stones 
to  make  men."  ^ 

There  have  been  instances  where  the  moral 
tone  of  a  whole  school  has  been  in  a  serious 
condition,  and  yet  with  the  advent  of  a  new 
Superintendent  the  place  has  been  transformed 
in  a  comparatively  short  time.  When  it  is 
remembered  that  character  is  the  greatest  and 
most  potent  force  for  influencing  character, 
it  is  seen  that  besides  caring  for  the  physical 
welfare  of  the  children  committed  to  their  care 
they  have  grave  responsibilities.  This  pro- 
fession, like  so  many  others,  has  made  the 
mistake  in  the  past  in  recruiting  from  one 
social  and  intellectual  class.  Insufficient  account 
has  been  taken  of  the  weight  of  individual 
character  ;  a  good  record  of  many  years'  service 
in  the  schools  has  been  thought  sufficient 
recommendation.  The  fact  that  a  "  would-be" 
Superintendent  has  taught  all  his  life  in  the 
schools,  and  his  parents  before  him,  does  not 
necessarily  imply  that  he  is  best  fitted  for  the 

*  St.  Chrysostom. 


64  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

post.  One  who  has  had  the  greater  part  of 
his  training  in  other  types  of  school  is  probably 
no  less  well  equipped,  and  moreover  he  might 
realize  the  need  of  altering  regulations  whose 
only  justification  is  their  long  existence. 

The  Superintendents  need  to  be  the  very 
best  men  and  women  that  it  is  possible  to  find. 
It  is  reasonable  that  they  should  not  be  equally 
remarkable  for  their  mental  gifts  and  their 
business  capacity  ;  but  there  are  certain  things 
which  are  absolutely  essential  if  they  are  to 
be  worthy  of  their  position.  They  need 
above  all  to  have  immense  and  undying  faith 
in  goodness  :  they  need  also  to  have  an  under- 
standing sympathy  with  young  life.  It  has 
been  said  that  "  a  Superintendent  must  be 
able  to  discern  the  secret  springs  in  a  boy's 
character,  to  appeal  to  unsuspected  motives, 
to  arouse  dormant  powers  of  resistance  to 
temptation,  and  to  labour  with  unflagging  zeal 
and  unlimited  patience  for  the  accomplishment 
of  the  seemingly  impossible  task."  ' 

There  is  one  quality  which  is  apt  to  be 
forgotten,  and  that  is  reverence.  It  is  difficult 
for  men  and  women  dealing  with  what  must 
sometimes  seem  to  be  the  dregs  of  humanity 
to  retain  a  spirit  of  reverence  and  humility. 
But  St.  Francis  kissed  the  wounds  of  the 
lepers  from  which  other  people  fled,  and  John 

»  Hastings  H.  Hart. 


WOMEN  TEACHERS  IN  BOYS^  SCHOOLS   65 

Wesley  when  he  saw  a  drunken  man  reeUng 
in  the  street  turned  to  his  friend  and  said, 
"  There,  but  for  the  grace  of  God,  go  I." 

B — Women  Members  of  the  Staff  of  Boys' 

Schools 

In  the  case  of  a  married  Superintendent,  his 
wife,  as  a  rule,  acts  as  matron.  Although  this 
seems  in  some  cases  to  be  a  successful  arrange- 
ment, it  is  not  altogether  desirable.  It  is 
usually  better  for  the  Superintendent's  wife 
to  hold  an  entirely  unofficial  position,  so  that 
she  can  devote  herself  more  closely  to  the 
boys,  letting  them  feel  that  they  have  a  sym- 
pathetic friend  in  one  who  is  dissociated  from 
the  actual  routine  of  the  school.  The  matron's 
position  is  one  of  utmost  importance.  She 
must  be  a  woman  of  real  refinement  and 
motherly  instincts.  Great  importance  is  attached 
to  her  official  duties,  but  still  more  important 
is  the  influence  she  exercises  unofficially. 

The  question  of  having  more  women  on  the 
staff  of  boys'  schools  is  one  that  needs  some 
consideration.  At  present,  apart  from  the  matron 
and  an  assistant  matron  in  large  schools,  the 
staff  is  composed  almost  entirely  of  men.  There 
are  at  present  two  Reformatories  and  three 
Industrial  Schools  (two  of  these  being  ships) 
where  there  is  no  matron  or  nurse  on  the 
5 


66  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

staff.  Occasionally  a  woman  is  in  charge  of 
the  mending-room  and  laundry,  but  she  has 
little  influence  outside  of  her  own  sphere.  A 
few  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Industrial  Schools 
for  younger  boys  are  entirely  managed  by 
Sisters  ;  and,  as  at  St.  Nicholas,  Ilford,  many 
of  their  other  schools  have  Sisters  teaching  in 
the  school-room.  The  late  Chief  Inspector 
admitted  recently  that  the  two  best  boys' 
schools  were  taught  by  Sisters  ;  ^  the  general 
results  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Industrial 
Schools  clearly  bear  out    this    testimony. 

There  are  certain  difficulties  in  the  way  of  a 
mixed  staff  of  men  and  women,  but  fortunately 
these  difficulties  are  not  insuperable.  With 
boys  coming  from  the  poorest  homes,  the  in- 
fluence of  the  right  sort  of  woman  is  essential. 
There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  because  of 
their  sex  women  are  any  less  capable  of 
managing  the  most  difficult  type  of  juvenile 
offender  ;  nor  are  they  less  fit  to  cope  with 
the  most  serious  questions  of  morality.  One 
Superintendent  admits  that  when  all  other 
means  have  failed  to  rouse  his  most  difficult 
boys  to  a  true  sense  of  their  guilt,  he  hands 
them  over  to  his  wife,  and  sometimes  the  most 
hardened  delinquents  have  broken  down  com- 
pletely before  her  womanly  sympathy  and 
motherly  admonition.     The  Superintendent  of 

*  T/ie  Certified  Schools  Gazette. 


MEN  TEACHERS  IN  GIRLS'  SCHOOLS     67 

a  larofe  American  Industrial  School,  whenever 
he  sends  a  boy  into  the  city,  invariably  makes 
the  arrangement  through  one  of  the  women 
teachers,  because,  as  he  says,  "It  is  an  un- 
heard-of thing  for  a  boy  to  run  away  after 
promising  a  lady  to  return." 

It  is  sometimes  argued  that  if  boys  are  too 
much  with  women  they  become  effeminate,  and 
boys  of  the  poorest  class  need  to  be  made 
manly  ;  therefore  it  is  thought  necessary  for 
them  to  associate  mainly  with  men.  In  an 
ordinary  home  the  father  and  miOther  share  the 
responsibilities  of  bringing  up  their  sons,  and 
there  is  certainly  no  reason  to  believe  that 
fatherless  boys  are  any  less  manly  than  those 
who  have  both  parents  living.  On  the  con- 
trary, experience  seems  to  show  that  such  boys 
have  the  highest  instincts  of  manhood  developed 
in  them  at  an  early  age. 

C — The  Exclusion  of  Men  from  some  of 
THE  Girls'  Schools 

If  the  absence  of  women  in  boys'  schools  is 
wrong,  the  exclusion  of  the  male  sex  in  some  of 
the  Q-'irls  schools  is  almost  as  harmful.  It  has 
the  result  that  when  the  girls  go  to  service 
they  sometimes  "  fall  into  the  arms  of  the  first 
butcher  boy  who  comes  to  the  door."  Unfor- 
tunately many  of  the  girls  come  from  immoral 
homes,  but  any  evil  tendencies  they  may  have 


6S  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

will  be  aggravated  by  a  strictly  conventual 
life.  Happily,  it  is  realized  increasingly  at  the 
present  day  that  boys  and  girls  need  direct 
teaching,  not  only  on  sex  hygiene,  but  also  on 
the  sanctity  of  the  mysteries  of  human  life. 

It  is  not  so  possible  to  have  men  teachers  in 
girls'  schools  as  it  is  to  have  women  teachers  in 
boys'  schools,  but  much  might  be  done  to 
prevent  the  complete  estrangement  of  the  girls 
from  the  male  sex.  At  Nazareth  House,  Isle- 
worth,  the  girls  give  entertainments  to  their 
neighbours,  and  each  summer  they  are  taken 
for  an  expedition  up  the  river  by  the  local 
bargemen,  and  in  return  the  girls  entertain 
their  kind  hosts  at  Christmas-time.  At  a 
school  for  feeble-minded  girls,  it  was  found  that 
the  fatherly  interest  and  kindly  understanding 
of  the  gardener  and  carpenter  had  quite  a 
remarkable  influence  on  the  girls'  daily  life. 
Occasionally  when  there  is  a  boys'  and  a  girls' 
Industrial  School  in  the  same  town,  the  children 
meet  at  an  annual  entertainment,  and  in  some 
cases  there  is  an  interchange  of  work.  For 
example,  at  Bath  the  girls  do  most  of  the  boys' 
laundry  work  and  use  their  gymnasium  ;  the 
boys  in  exchange  bake  the  girls'  bread  and 
mend  their  shoes.  Much  still  needs  to  be  done 
to  remove  the  unnatural  atmosphere  of  an 
institution,  and  to  make  it  more  like  an  ordinary 
home,  where  boys  and  girls  grow  up  together. 


THE   STAFF  69 

Without    this,     there     must     be    a    one-sided 
development. 

D — Difficulties  and  Responsibilities  of 

THE  Staff 

There  is  as  a  rule  one  member  of  the  staff  to 
every  eleven  or  twelve  boys  or  girls  in  the 
school.  In  boys'  schools  the  staff  generally 
includes,  besides  the  Superintendent  and 
matron,  a  schoolmaster  and  his  assistant,  a 
carpenter,  tailor,  shoemaker,  bandmaster,  cook, 
and  laundress.  In  some  of  the  large  schools 
there  is  a  resident  gymnastic  instructor  and 
farrier  ;  in  country  schools  there  are  in  addition 
agricultural  and  horticultural  instructors.  The 
staff  of  girls'  schools  usually  includes,  in 
addition  to  the  Superintendent,  a  school- 
mistress and  her  assistant,  a  laundry,  kitchen, 
and  house  matron.  The  number  of  the  staff 
varies  according  to  the  size  of  the  school,  but 
the  above  is  typical  of  an  average  school. 

The  influence  of  the  members  of  the  staff  is 
very  important,  because  they  are  in  close  con- 
tact with  the  children  for  the  greater  part  of  the 
day.  What  has  been  said  of  the  Superin- 
tendents is  equally  applicable  to  other  members 
of  the  staff.  They  have  great  responsibilities 
and  great  opportunities.  Unfortunately  their 
lives  are  apt  to  become  very  monotonous  and 
restricted,     and     they     have     little    time    for 


70  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

recreation  or  for  cultivating  their  own  minds. 
Dr.  Arnold  once  said,  "A  master  needs  to  be 
continually  educating  himself  morally  and 
intellectually  if  he  is  to  be  at  all  successful  as  a 
teacher."  At  present  it  is  not  always  easy  for 
the  teachers  to  do  this,  while  in  country  schools 
it  is  still  more  difficult ;  they  have  often  no 
other  alternative  than  to  go  for  a  walk  in  the 
country  lanes  when  they  are  off  duty.  In  dark 
winter  evenings  this  is  not  inviting,  and  it 
certainly  is  not  educating.  Much  might  be 
done,  however,  to  help  the  teachers,  if  residents 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  school  would  take 
more  active  interest  in  their  welfare  ;  it  may  be 
only  by  the  occasional  gift  of  a  theatre  or  a 
concert  ticket,  but  in  any  case  the  sympathy 
and  encouragement  of  men  ^nd  women  leading 
less-restricted  lives  would  be  a  g^reat  stimulus 
to  the  teachers,  whose  lives  are  often  barren  of 
interests  outside  of  their  school.  It  is  par- 
ticularly necessary  for  them  to  have  plenty  of 
free  time,  but  this  is  difficult,  because  the 
children  are  never  absent.  At  present  the 
holidays  are  very  inadequate,  and  this  fact,  in 
addition  to  the  restrictions  of  the  life,  is  one  of 
the  main  difficulties  in  securing  suitable  men 
and  women  to  undertake  the  work. 

A  great  tribute  must  be  paid  to  the  Sisters 
in  the  Roman  Catholic  schools.  It  was  said  by 
the   late  Chief  Inspector,  at   a  farewell  dinner 


THE   WORK   OF  SISTERS  71 

recently  given  in  his  honour,  that  "the  results 
from  the  school  managed  by  Sisters  were  the 
best  they  could  hope  to  ever  achieve,  because 
every  Sister  was  devoted  to  her  work,  and  had 
nothing  to  trouble  her  but  the  interests  of  the 
children."  He  considered  it  a  very  high  tribute 
to  the  other  schools  that  they  were  able  to  get 
within  measurable  distance  of  "  the  splendid 
schools  managed  by  Sisters."  The  difference 
of  tone  between  some  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
and  Protestant  schools  is  very  apparent ;  it  is 
difficult  and  often  impossible  to  ensure  such  an 
atmosphere  of  self-sacrifice  and  devotion 
amongst  a  staff  to  whom  the  earnings  of  their 
daily  bread  and  the  provision  for  their  future 
are  prior  considerations. 

It  would  seem  that  the  members  of  the  staff 
need  to  be  almost  exceptional  men  and  women, 
and  in  view  of  this  it  is  gratifying  to  know  of 
many  cases  where  they  are  devoting  themselves 
to  the  work  with  a  whole-hearted  zeal  and  a 
wonderful  spirit  of  self-sacrifice.  In  a  number 
of  schools  there  appears  to  be  a  perfect 
harmony  and  co-operation  between  the  Super- 
intendents and  the  staff  and  the  boys  and  girls ; 
but  it  must  be  admitted  that  there  are  still 
many  schools  where  those  in  authority,  from 
the  Chairman  of  the  Managers  to  the  humblest 
teacher,  need  a  fuller  realization  of  their  sacred 
responsibilities. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE     ELEMENTARY     EDUCATION     AND    THE 
RELIGIOUS    INSTRUCTION 

A — Difficulties  Peculiar  to  Certified  Schools. 

1.  The  Children's  Ignorant  Homes. 

2.  The  Adjustment  of  the  Industrial  and  School  Work. 

3.  The  Less-qualified  Teachers. 

B— Certified  School  Teachers'  Special  Opportunities. 
C— The  Religious  Instruction. 

1.  Existing  Opportunities. 

2.  Their  Inadequacy. 

D— The  Boys'  and  Girls'  Distorted  View  of  Religion. 
E— The  Aim  of  Religious  Instruction. 

A — Difficulties  Peculiar  to  Certified 

Schools 

IN  considering  the  elementary  education  it 
must  be  remembered  that  certain  difficulties 
are  peculiar  to  this  type  of  school.  Firstly,  the 
children  come  from  the  most  ignorant  class  ; 
secondly,  there  is  great  difficulty  in  securing  a 
proper  adjustment  between  the  elementary 
education  and  the  industrial  training ;  and 
thirdly,  the  schools,  as  a  rule,  have  failed  to 
secure  the  most  efficient  teachers. 

In  the  first  place,  the  large  majority  of  the 
children    come    from     the    poorest    and    most 

72 


THE  CHILDREN'S  IGNORANT  HOMES    73 

ignorant  homes,  where  education  is  only 
tolerated  as  a  means  of  providing  for  the  little 
ones  who  are  unable  to  supplement  the  family- 
income  with  their  earnings.  For  those  that 
are  older,  not  only  is  no  encouragement  given 
to  their  school  work,  but  it  is  often  despised 
and  whenever  possible  avoided.  Sometimes 
the  parents  are  perpetually  changing  their 
address  in  order  to  escape  the  attendance 
officers. 

Unfortunately,  even  when  the  parents  are 
anxious  for  the  children  to  attend  school,  the 
sheer  poverty  of  the  home  drives  them  to  help 
their  mother  in  some  sweated  industry  during 
their  free  time.  It  is  not  a  matter  of  surprise, 
therefore,  that  so  many  who  are  committed  to 
the  schools  are  below  the  average  in  matters 
of  elementary  education.  What  they  may 
lack  in  intellectual  development  they  have  often 
gained  in  precocious  delinquency,  their  energies 
being  for  the  most  part  misdirected.  Boys  or 
girls  of  12  and  14  are  sometimes  to  be  seen 
sitting  side  by  side  with  little  ones  of  7  and 
8,  trying  to  form  their  letters  and  spell  the 
simplest  words.  It  is  quite  clear,  therefore, 
that  the  teachers  in  Certified  Schools  are  faced 
at  the  outset  with  many  difficulties. 

Till  they  are  14,  the  children  are  obliged  to 
spend  half  of  their  working  time  in  the  school- 
room ;  this  is  as  a  rule  five  hours  a  day.     From 


74  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

the  age  of  14  to  16  they  must  spend  at  least 
three  hours  a  week,  but  in  many  Reformatories 
more  time  is  given  to  the  theoretical  side  of 
the  education  ;  this  is  especially  the  case  with 
Boys'  Reformatories  where  there  is  an  army 
class.  The  class  is  periodically  examined  by 
a  military  official,  and  those  who  secure  the 
"  School  Army  Test  Certificate "  are  able, 
within  a  few  days  of  entering  the  army,  to 
secure  an  easy  pass,  under  military  schoolroom 
conditions,  for  the  "Army  Test  Certificate"; 
in  this  way  they  are  some  years  ahead  of  the 
ordinary  recruit.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  before 
very  long  boys  entering  industrial  and  agri- 
cultural careers  will  have  a  similar  advantage. 
A  knowledge  of  industrial  history  and  the 
existing  factory  laws  would  be  a  useful  addition 
to  their  equipment. 

There  are  certain  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
satisfactorily  adjusting  the  industrial  and  school 
work.  In  some  schools  the  children  work  in 
the  schoolroom  every  morning  for  one  week, 
and  every  afternoon  for  another  week  ;  in 
other  schools  they  work  alternate  days,  in  the 
afternoon  and  in  the  morning.  At  one  In- 
dustrial School  the  Superintendent  has  found 
the  best  results  from  letting  the  boys  work  for 
six  hours  alternate  days.  This  is  a  matter 
which  must  be  left  to  the  discretion  of  those 
in   authority   in    each  school.     It   is    obviously 


UNCERTIFICATED   TEACHERS  75 

very  important  that  the  intellectual  education 
should  not  be  lost  sight  of  in  the  desire  to  give 
an  adequate  industrial  equipment.  Industrial 
instructors  sometimes  disapprove  of  the  school- 
room, which  robs  them  of  their  most  efficient 
workers  for  a  few  hours  every  day.  The  two 
branches  of  education  are  equally  important, 
the  one  naturally  supplements  the  other,  and 
the  schools  which  show  the  best  results  are 
those  where  there  is  a  practical  alliance  between 
the  schoolroom  instruction  and  the  technical 
instruction  of  the  industrial  departments.  (See 
Appendixes  F,  G,  H,  I.) 

One  of  the  most  serious  difficulties  in 
educating  Certified  School  children  has  been 
that  in  the  past  the  majority  of  the  teachers 
have  not  been  fully  qualified  ;  many  school 
authorities  are  increasingly  realizing  the  need 
of  securing  the  most  efficient  teaching.  In 
well-managed  schools  the  education  is  little 
different  from  that  which  the  same  class  of 
children  would  have  received  elsewhere.  The 
fact  that  the  teachers  have  administrative  as 
well  as  schoolroom  duties  may  have  the  effect 
of  diminishing  their  teaching  powers,  but  on 
the  other  hand  it  enables  them  to  become 
intimately  acquainted  with  the  children,  which 
is  a  very  considerable  advantage. 

The  advisability  of  allowing  Industrial 
School    children    to     attend    the     Elementary 


76  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

Schools  has  sometimes  been  considered.  At 
present  at  two  of  the  boys'  schools  and  two 
of  the  girls'  schools  the  children  attend  the 
neighbouring  Elementary  Schools.  This 
policy  has  the  great  advantage  of  securing 
the  best  education  that  the  State  provides, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  serious 
difficulties.  The  school  curriculum  has  to 
be  very  much  reorganized,  and  also  there 
is  considerable  risk  of  the  children  carrying 
infection  or  becoming  infected.  At  present 
the  institutional  school  is  better  able  to  bridge 
over  the  gulf  between  the  technical  and  the 
industrial  education.  The  difficulties  of  a  satis- 
factory adjustment  are  not  insuperable,  and 
it  may  be  that  such  a  policy  will  be  a  solution 
of  the  difficulty  of  ensuring  Industrial  School 
children  an  adequate  elementary  education. 
The  fact  that  Elementary  Schools  are  laying 
more  stress  on  industrial  training  is  greatly  in 
favour  of  such  a  scheme. 

Taking  it  as  a  whole  the  education  cannot 
be  altogether  dissociated  from  that  of  ■  the 
Elementary  Schools,  and  usually  the  same 
criticism  is  applicable.  "  The  chief  fault  of 
all  elementary  education  is  that  there  is  too 
much  teaching  and  too  little  work.  .  .  .  The 
teachers  have  been  handicapped  owing  to  the 
fact  that  their  capacity  will  be  judged,  not  by 
how  much  they  have  taught  the  boys  to  think 


THE  TEACHERS'  OPPORTUNITIES       77 

for  themselves,  but  rather  by  how  much  know- 
ledge they  have  been  able  to  drum  into  the 
often  dull  minds.  .  .  .  History  is  read  again, 
but  they  still  blindly  identify  all  persons  of  the 
name  of  William  in  one  composite  personality, 
who  conquers,  has  red  hair,  is  silent,  and  has 
something  to  do  with  an  orange."  ^ 


B — Certified  School  Teachers'  Special 
Opportunities 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  if  the  ele- 
mentary education  had  been  more  thorough, 
more  former  members  of  Certified  Schools 
would  have  entered  skilled  careers.  Gifted 
teachers  have  unrivalled  opportunities  from 
the  fact  that  they  live  in  the  school  and  are 
able  to  know  the  children  at  their  play  as 
well  as  at  their  work.  The  education  need 
not  cease  during  playtime  ;  much  could  be 
done  with  history  by  encouraging  the  children 
to  act  various  scenes  from  the  period  they 
are  'studying ;  and  every  opportunity  should 
be  given  them  for  cultivating  individual  hob- 
bies. With  such  education  dull  and  apathetic 
minds  would  be  roused,  and  the  children  would 
have  something  to  think  and  talk  about,  other 
than  the  shortcomings   of  those   in   authority, 


1  " 


Across  the  Bridges,"  Paterson. 


78  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

and  what  they  sometimes  firmly  believe  to  be 
their  own  misunderstood  characters. 

Dr.  Arnold,  in  contrasting  a  usefial  education 
with  one  that  does  not  affect  the  future  life, 
said :  "  The  difference  rests  mainly  on  the 
greater  or  less  activity  which  it  conveys  to 
the  pupil's  mind — whether  he  has  learned 
to  think  or  to  act  and  to  gain  knowledge, 
or  whether  he  has  merely  followed  passively 
as  long  as  there  was  some  one  to  draw  him." 
The  fundamental  idea  in  the  training  of 
juvenile  delinquents  should  be  to  direct  ener- 
gies which  have  hitherto  been  misdirected. 
Herein  lies  the  opportunity  for  the  school- 
teacher. It  is  because  the  system  has  con- 
sisted in  a  process  of  pouring  in  information 
heedless  of  individual  needs,  rather  than  a 
process  of  drawing  out  dormant  possibilities, 
that  better  results  have  not  been  achieved. 


C — The  Religious  Instruction 

Existing  Opportunities 

With  the  exception  of  the  schools  for  Roman 
Catholic  and  Jewish  children,  the  nature  of  the 
religious  instruction  varies  in  accordance  with 
the  views  of  the  Managers.  A  few  of  the 
boys'  schools  have  their  own  chapels,  but, 
as  a  rule,   the  school   attends  a  neighbouring 


RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION  79 

place  of  worship  ;  in  a  few  cases  it  attends  a 
church  in  the  morning  and  chapel  in  the 
evening.  In  some  cities  it  is  not  an  un- 
common sight  to  see  the  local  Reformatory 
or  Industrial  School  going  to  church  :  the 
boys,  in  a  drear  uniform,  walking  four  or  six 
abreast,  the  girls,  dressed  in  a  sombre  fashion, 
walking  demurely  two  and  two.  The  place 
of  worship  that  is  chosen  is  unfortunately 
very  often  one  of  the  most  antiquated  and 
gloomy  :  the  school  sits  in  long  rows  in  a 
dark  gallery  or  a  side-aisle,  and  the  boys  and 
girls  are  generally  conscious  of  the  rigid  super- 
vision of  those  in  charge,  who  are  ready  to 
detect  the  gentlest  whisper  or  the  slightest 
movement,  and  thus  are  unable  to  set  the 
example  of  a  single-minded  and  sincere 
devotion. 

In  addition  to  these  services  there  are  Bible 
classes  or  Sunday  school  in  the  afternoon,  and 
occasionally  there  is  a  service  held  in  the  school 
during  the  week.  Visitors  are  sometimes 
willing  to  help  with  the  religious  instruction  ; 
but  the  main  responsibility  rests  with  the 
Superintendent — the  success  of  the  teaching 
depending  upon  the  sincerity  and  fervour  of 
his  or  her  faith.  The  chaplain,  who  is  ap- 
pointed to  most  schools,  holds  a  more  or  less 
official  position,  and  does  not  become  intimate 
with  the  boys  and  girls  ;  where,  however,  the 


80  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

school  has  its  own  chapel,  the  chaplain  takes 
a  more  active  share  in  the  work  of  the  school, 
and  he  is  able  to  lighten  the  burden  of  re- 
sponsibility, which  rests  otherwise  entirely  with 
the  Superintendent.  The  parish  clergyman 
has  a  right  to  visit  the  school  and  give 
religious  instruction  ;  but,  even  when  this 
privilege  is  used,  the  instruction  is  not  always 
inspiring  or  well  understood.  Morning  and 
Evening  Prayers  are  an  established  custom, 
and,  as  a  rule,  there  are  a  few  minutes  of 
silence  in  each  dormitory  for  private  prayer 
before  going  to  bed,  and  before  starting  the 
work  of  the  day.  Such  are  the  opportunities 
for  religious  instruction  in  Certified  Schools. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  much  of  it  is 
lifeless  and  unreal,  and  there  is  little  that 
is  truly  spiritual  and  uplifting,  while  there  is 
a  geat  deal  that  is  cold  and  forbidding.  In 
some  schools  the  young  delinquents  are  so 
constantly  reminded  that  they  are  sinners 
by  the  texts  on  the  walls,  or  by  the  words 
of  their  teachers,  that  they  begin  to  act 
accordingly. 

D — The   Boys'  and  Girls'  Distorted  View 

OF  Religion 

When  it  is  remembered  that  many  of  them 
come    from    some    of   the    most    ignorant    and 


DISTORTED   VIEW   OF   RELIGION        81 

degraded  homes,  surely  it  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  that  their  religious  instruction 
should  not  be  lacking  in  spiritual  power. 
They  have  often,  especially  the  elder  ones, 
a  very  distorted  view  of  religion.  Professedly 
religious  people,  in  their  previous  experience, 
were  not  always  remarkable  for  their  honesty 
or  for  their  charity,  and  any  religious  training 
they  may  have  had  has  been  more  often 
associated  with  the  Annual  Treat  than  with 
the  worship  of  God.  If  at  any  time  they 
may  have  had  sparks  of  religious  enthusiasm, 
the  sparks  were  successfully  quenched  by  the 
home  environment,  where  they  heard  curses 
rather  than  prayers.  It  is  not  a  matter  of 
surprise,  therefore,  that  the  boys  and  girls 
often  come  to  the  school  bereft  of  a  spirit 
of  reverence,  when  they  had  so  little  in  their 
lives  which  would  call  it  forth.  It  is  the  lack 
of  this  spirit  which  has  been  mainly  the  cause 
of  their  undoing.  The  first  thing  the  teachers 
have  to  do  is  to  implant  the  seeds  of  rever- 
ence ;  and  the  problem  is  to  find  the  best 
means  of  accomplishing  what  may  seem  some- 
times to  be  an  impossible  task. 

E — The  Aim  of  Religious  Instruction 

Children  of  all  ages  are  hero-worshippers — 
in  the  bottom  of  their  hearts  the  most  hardened 
6 


82  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

delinquents  admire  what  is  truthful  and  sincere. 
It  is  here  that  the  teachers  have  their  oppor- 
tunity ;  they  can  give  the  children  a  definite 
Hero  to  follow  in  the  Person  of  Christ — a 
Hero  whom  they  can  both  love  and  reverence. 
If  this  becomes  the  corner-stone  of  their  teach^ 
ing  it  will  be  comparatively  easy  to  show  that 
love  demands  sacrifice  and  service,  because 
there  will  always  be  Christ's  example  of 
Perfect  Sacrifice  before  them.  It  is  always 
found  to  be  wiser  to  give  positive  teaching 
rather  than  negative ;  to  help  the  boys  and 
cfirls  to  strive  after  a  definite  ideal  is  better 
than  to  preface  everything  by  "  Thou  shalt 
not."  When  they  fail,  it  helps  them  to  know 
that  many  of  the  world's  greatest  men  and 
women  failed  in  the  same  way,  but  they  per- 
severed ;  it  is  not  the  actual  failure,  so  much 
as  the  failure  to  persevere,  which  is  condemned 
by  God. 

The  religious  instruction  must  be  intensely 
spiritual  if  it  is  going  to  permeate  the  hearts 
of  the  children,  but,  at  the  same  time,  it  must 
be  essentially  practical.  Religion  should  not 
be  kept  only  for  Sundays.  Such  every-day 
virtues  as  kindness,  "  playing  fair,"  and  con- 
sideration for  those  in  authority  are  a  neces^ 
sary  outcome  of  any  true  religion.  It  is  also 
very  important  for  the  boys  and  girls  to 
realize  that  a  truly  religious  person  is  always 


RELIGIOUS   INSTRUCTION  8S 

joyful  ;  there  is  no  place  for  "  sulks "  and 
"glumness,"  Here  again  a  great  tribute  must 
be  paid  to  some  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Schools, 
where  much  of  the  religion  is  beautiful  and  full 
of  hope,  and  where  the  gentle  lives  of  the 
Sisters  are  illustrations  of  self-sacrifice  and 
the  power  of  love. 

Great  care  is  needed  to  avoid  any  kind  of 
formalism.  A  bishop,  describing  a  visit  to 
an  institution,  remarked  that  "  the  devotions 
might  well  have  been  a  series  of  physical 
exercises."  Another  precaution  is  necessary 
in  order  to  avoid  emotionalism,  to  which 
children,  especially  girls,  are  very  subject  ; 
not  only  is  it  disastrous  to  the  individual, 
but,  because  of  its  rapid  infection,  to  the 
whole  school.  Formalism  and  emotionalism 
alike  will  be  prevented  only  by  a  direct  appeal 
to  the  heart  and  roots  of  conscience  ;  and  once 
this  is  accomplished  there  need  be  no  fear. 
It  has  also  to  be  remembered  that,  as  a  rule, 
the  boys  and  girls  are  intensely  anxious  to 
please,  and  therefore  if  the  heart  remains 
untouched  this  leads  to  hypocrisy,  which  is 
as  harmful  to  themselves  as  it  is  to  the  whole 
cause  of  religion. 

Too  much  stress  cannot  be  laid  on  the 
importance  of  the  teachers  themselves  holding 
high  ideals  ;  should  there  be  the  least  suspicion 
of  "faith  without   works,"  their  teaching   will 


84  YOUNG    DELINQUENTS 

be  of  no  avail.  None  are  so  quick  as  young 
people  to  detect  insincerity.  It  has  been  said 
that  "  Some  men  prepare  their  sermons  and 
other  men  prepare  themselves."  It  is  when 
the  teachers  prepare  themselves  that  their 
teaching  bears  most  fruit. 


CHAPTER   VII 

BOYS'   REFORMATORY  AND   INDUSTRIAL   SCHOOLS 

A — The  General  Appearance  of  the  Boys. 
B — DiscipHne  and  Punishment. 
C — Physical  Training  and  Recreation. 
D — Industrial  Training. 
E— Nautical  Training. 
F — Agricultural  Training. 

G — Separation  of  the  Economic  and  the  Industrial  Interest. 
H— Occupations  of  the  Boys  who  left  the  Schools  in  1908,  1909, 
1910. 

1.  Industrial  Careers. 

2.  Army  and  Navy. 

3.  Agricultural. 

4.  Horticulture. 

I— Supervision  and  After-care. 

1.  Homes  in  connection  with  Certified  Schools. 

2.  The  Certified  Schools'  Agent. 

A — The  General  Appearance  of  the  Boys 

1'^HE  general  appearance  of  the  boys 
naturally  varies  in  different  schools,  but 
there  is  nearly  always  a  painful  lack  of  individ- 
uality, and  in  many  cases  the  uniform  is  need- 
lessly unsightly.  If  it  is  necessary,  for  economic 
reasons,  to  have  a  uniform,  there  is  no  reason 
for  it  to  be  ugly.  It  is  quite  possible  for 
corduroy   to  be   made  becoming,  even  if  it   is 

85 


86  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

merely  a  "  cut "   which  permits  the  wearer  to 
show  a  soft  collar  and  tie. 

The  almost  universal  practice  of  keeping  the 
boys'  hair  closely  cropped  still  further  robs 
them  of  all  individuality  ;  their  improved  ap- 
pearance in  the  few  schools  where  this  is  not 
the  custom  is  very  remarkable,  and  the  Super- 
intendents of  these  schools  have  found  that 
there  is  very  little  difficulty  in  ensuring  cleanli- 
ness. They  are  undoubtedly  fully  rewarded 
for  any  extra  trouble. 

There  has  recently  been  some  strong  criti- 
cism directed  against  the  uniforms  of  the  boys 
which  has  been  answered  by  several  Superinten- 
dents in  The  Certified  Schools  Gazette.     Colonel 
Johnston,  of  Castle  Howard  Farm  School,  wrote: 
"  Where  the  dress  consists  of  a  ghastly  uniform 
or  badly  fitting  suit  ...   it  should  certainly  be 
abolished,    and    all     Reformatories    should    be 
brought  up  to  the  standard  of  the  institutions 
which    dress    the   boys   properly   in    neat    and 
smart    uniforms,    plain    clothes,  and    working 
dress.     To  dress  a  boy  properly  is  to  preserve 
his  self-respect,  to  dress  him  badly  is  to  make 
him  ashamed  of  himself  and  creates  and  arouses 
a  resentful  spirit  within  him  against  all  man- 
kind."    At  this  school  the  full  dress  consists  of 
a    neat  blue  uniform   with   brass   buttons   and 
badges  and   red    facings.     For    discharge  and 
holiday  wear  the  boys  have  dark  tweed  suits, 


UNIFORMS  87 

and  for  work  corduroy  jacket  and  trousers  with 
leggings.  Canon  Vine,  of  Redhill  Farm  School, 
considers  "  a  military  uniform  has  a  consider- 
able advantage  over  civilian  dress,  in  that  vari- 
ous decorations,  which  boys,  like  soldiers,  so 
much  covet  and  appreciate,  can  be  worn  with 
It. 

The  uniforms  described  above  are  fairly 
typical,  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  in  the 
majority  of  schools  there  has  lately  been  a 
great  improvement.  This,  however,  refers 
especially  to  the  younger  boys  in  Industrial 
Schools,  for  many  Reformatories  still  need  to 
make  considerable  modifications.  In  many 
schools  a  great  point  is  being  made  of  the 
games  clothes,  and,  although  in  most  cases  this 
only  affects  the  members  of  the  various  teams, 
it  is  a  great  step  in  the  right  direction. 

The  question  of  uniform  and  cropped  hair 
may  seem  a  trifling  matter  to  a  casual  observer, 
but  it  is  one  of  vital  importance  to  the  boys 
themselves.  If  every  chance  of  "  good  looks  " 
is  taken  from  them,  they  have  little  opportunity 
for  taking  a  pride  in  their  personal  appearance, 
their  first  step  towards  self-respect.  It  is  not 
an  uncommon  sight,  in  some  towns,  to  see  the 
local  Industrial  or  Reformatory  School  marching 
through  the  streets  for  all  the  world  as  if  they 
were  young  convicts,  instead  of  untrained  boys, 
the  majority  of  whom  are  no  worse  than  those 


88  YOUNG    DELINQUENTS 

who  half  scornfully  and  half  pitifully  watch  the 
regiment  go  by.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  in 
future  the  uniforms  will  be  kept  principally  for 
ceremonial  occasions,  and  that  the  every-day 
clothes  will  be  more  rational  and  less  con- 
spicuous. 

B — Discipline  and  Punishment 

The  chief  aim  of  discipline  is  to  keep  order, 
to  check  delinquent  tendencies,  and  to  inculcate 
some  idea  of  self-control  and  self-reliance.  The 
methods  of  accomplishing  this  vary  considerably 
in  different  schools  ;  in  some  cases  there  is  the 
rigid  model  of  the  military  system  ;  in  others 
there  appear  to  be  very  few  hard-and-fast  rules, 
the  masters  relying  to  a  large  extent  upon  the 
"  good  tone  "  amongst  the  boys.  There  are 
many  schools  which  have  broken  away  from 
the  almost  prison-like  discipline  of  the  past, 
and  yet  are  not  willing  to  rely  to  any  great 
extent  on  methods  which  depend  on  the  boys' 
sense  of  responsibility. 

It  must  always  be  remembered  that  the 
majority  of  the  boys  coming  to  the  schools  are 
lacking  in  self-control  and  possess  little  or  no 
understanding  of  the  meaning  of  obedience  ; 
therefore  it  is  necessary  that  there  should  be  a 
wise  and  strong  discipline  which  is  thorough 
without  in  the  least  being  harsh.  A  weak  and 
inefficient  discipline  will  do  as  much  harm  as 


DISCIPLINE  89 

one  which  is  too  severe.  As  has  been  well 
said,  "  the  process  of  reformative  treatment 
must  not  err  on  the  side  of  being  so  easy  and 
delightful  that  it  is  robbed  of  a  certain  sting 
and  struggle."  ^ 

Practically  every  school  has  some  monitorial 
system  by  which  the  elder  boys  and  those  of 
more  exemplary  conduct  are  given  certain 
responsibilities,  and  are  allowed  to  share  in  the 
maintenance  of  discipline.  The  idea  of  self- 
government  has  been  vividly  brought  forward 
lately  by  the  work  of  the  George  Junior  Repub- 
lic :  a  few  schools  have  been  willing  to  adopt 
some  of  its  methods.  The  Hayes  Industrial 
School  for  Jewish  boys  has  a  system  which  is 
very  similar,  and  it  has  been  found  to  work 
remarkably  well. 

For  the  great  majority  of  schools  discipline 
is  largely  maintained  by  a  mark  system  with 
money  rewards.  The  actual  method  varies  very 
much,  the  usual  one  being  to  credit  the  boys 
with  a  few  pence  every  week  in  proportion  to 
the  marks  they  have  received.  Monitors  are 
paid  usually  at  the  rate  of  6d.  or  \s.  a  week. 
In  many  schools,  as  at  the  Regent's  Park 
Home,  every  new  boy  has  an  account  opened 
at  the  Post  Office  Savings  Bank,  and  all  the 
money  he  earns  for  good  marks  or  prizes  is 
paid  directly    to   his   account.      Although   the 

^  "  Across  the  Bridges,"  Paterson. 


90  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

thought  of  payment  for  being  good  seems 
altogether  incongruous,  so  long  as  it  only- 
remains  a  means  to  an  end  it  must  not  be 
wholly  condemned.  Such  a  system  has  the 
great  advantage  of  encouraging  the  boys  by 
letting  them  feel  that  they  are  able  to  earn, 
and  therefore  it  is  possible  for  them  to  retain 
a  little  self-respect.  It  has  the  material  ad- 
vantage of  enabling  them  to  have  a  "nest-egg  " 
when  they  leave  school. 

In  matters  of  discipline  it  is  very  necessary 
that  the  boys  should  not  be  treated  as  mere 
machines.  Discipline  often  becomes  a  regular 
"  fetish."  There  is  incessant  saluting  and 
standing  at  attention,  the  explanation  being 
that  discipline  must  be  maintained,  and  that 
boys  who  have  little  natural  respect  must  be 
made  respectful.  Such  schools  lose  sight  of 
individual  needs  in  the  desire  to  create  "  a 
smart  tone."  It  should  be  always  remembered 
that  the  insistence  on  outward  signs  of  respect 
is  merely  a  means  to  an  end  and  a  stepping- 
stone  to  spontaneous  good  manners.  Directly 
it  becomes  an  end  in  itself  it  is  mechanical  and 
insincere.  Formerly  a  child  with  a  crooked 
spine  was  bound  down  to  a  board  for  hours  at 
a  time,  but  now  such  a  deformity  is  corrected 
by  physical  exercises  and  by  an  appeal  to  the 
child's  will-power.  There  is  always  the  fear 
that  where  the  smart  discipline  is  too  apparent 


DISCIPLINE  91 

the  boys  are  in  much  the  same  position  as  the 
child  tied  to  a  back -board.  When  they  leave 
school  they  will  be  "smart"  for  a  time,  but, 
because  their  personal  will  and  initiative  have 
not  been  exercised,  they  will  very  likely  fall 
back  into  a  worse  condition  than  they  were  in 
before  they  came  to  the  school. 

It  often  appears  to  the  masters  that  the  lower 
nature  of  the  boys  is  uppermost,  and  therefore 
tangible  methods  are  necessary  to  ensure  dis- 
cipline ;  but  the  fact  remains  that  eventually 
the  spiritual  nature  of  each  boy  must  be  reached 
by  spiritual  means.  The  boys  must  be  able  to 
feel  that  they  are  trusted,  and  that  their  masters 
sincerely  care  for  them.  There  are  schools 
existing  to-day  where  the  boys  know  they  are 
regarded  as  a  "  bad  lot,"  and  where  they  have 
little  opportunity  for  proving  that  they  are  to 
be  trusted.  It  is  the  lack  of  this  opportunity 
that  is  the  cause  ot  much  that  is  least  satis- 
factory in  the  schools.  In  a  few  schools  the 
boys  are  rewarded  for  good  conduct  by  a  half- 
holiday  "  on  parole,"  the  knowledge  that  they 
are  trusted  having  a  marked  effect  on  the 
atmosphere  of  the  whole  school. 

Where  the  masters  have  the  boys'  confidence 
they  are  able  to  help  them  see  the  reasonable- 
ness of  self-restraint.  A  contemporary  of  Dr. 
Arnold  at  Rugby  found  that  at  exactly  the  age 
when  the  boys  begin  to  acquire  some  degree 


92  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

of  self-respect  and  some  desire  for  the  respect 
of  others,  they  were  treated  with  confidence  by- 
one  whose  confidence  they  could  not  but  regard 
as  worth  having,  and  found  themselves  in  a 
position  where  their  own  dignity  could  not  be 
maintained  except  by  consistent  good  conduct. 
Once  that  a  boy  realizes  his  own  responsibility 
the  reformative  treatment  is  well  on  the  way 
towards  producing  a  citizen  worthy  of  the 
name.  To  do  this  the  aim  of  the  masters,  as 
an  American  writer  has  said,  should  be,^  "  To 
teach  the  boys  that  they  are  not  individuals, 
not  unrelated  atoms  in  a  random  universe  .  .  . 
but  that  they  are  links  every  one  of  them  in  a 
splendid  chain  that  has  been  running  since  life 
began,  and  runs  on  till  the  end  of  time  ;  .  .  . 
they  must  realize  that  no  chain  is  stronger  than 
its  weakest  link,  and  that  this  means  them. 
There  is  a  powerful  socializing  force  in  the 
sense  of  personal  responsibility,  it  cultivated 
in  the  right  direction.  A  boy  may  be  willing 
to  take  his  chances  of  going  to  the  bad, 
economically  and  socially,  as  well  as  morally, 
if  he  thinks  that  it  is  only  his  own  personal 
concern,  but  he  will  hesitate  when  once  it  is 
impressed  upon  him  that  in  so  doing  he  is 
blocking  the  whole  magnificent  procession. 
The  social  efficiency  of  these  boys  would  be 
developed  by  stamping  upon  them  the  know- 

'  "  Queed,"  H.  S.  Harrison. 


PUNISHMENT  9S 

ledge  that  the  very  humblest  of  them  holds  a 
trusteeship  of  cosmic  importance." 

Pu?iishment 

In  the  well-managed  schools  there  is  com- 
paratively little  punishment  other  than  the 
deduction  of  marks,  but  unfortunately  from 
time  to  time  abuses  are  apt  to  arise,  and  the 
general  public  is  shocked  to  hear  of  unneces- 
sarily severe  and  even  degrading  punishments 
being  used.  Owing  to  the  more  enlightened 
ideas  of  those  in  authority,  these  occasions  are 
becoming  rare,  but,  unfortunately,  the  most 
vigilant  inspector  is  not  always  able  to  detect 
a  misuse  of  the  disciplinary  powers  of  those  in 
authority. 

One  of  the  most  serious  offences  that  has  to 
be  dealt  with  is  absconding  or  attempting  to 
abscond.  This  does  not  necessarily  presuppose 
that  the  discipline  is  either  too  weak  or  too 
severe,  for  such  cases  are  usually  amongst  new 
boys  who  resent  any  kind  of  restraint.  Another 
serious  offence  which  is  not  altogether  un- 
common is  that  of  "  malingering."  This  is 
usually  the  result  of  excessive  laziness  or  of  a 
thorough  dislike  of  work.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  if  the  boys  were  made  more  responsible 
for  their  own  work  and  given  some  economic 
interest  in  it,  there  would  be  less  risk  of  their 
becoming  "  shirkers."     At  the  same  time  they 


94  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

must  be  given  the  principle  of  work,  and  be 
made  to  realize  that  in  any  community,  as  well 
as  in  the  world  outside,  every  one  will  have  a 
certain  amount  of  work  which  is  thoroughly 
distasteful.  To  give  extra  work  as  a  punish- 
ment is  only  to  increase  the  distaste  for  it ;  it 
is  probably  a  wiser  method  to  take  the 
*'  malingerer "  at  his  word,  dose  him  with 
physic,  and  cut  him  off  from  all  recreation. 
"  Malingering "  may  sometimes  be  the  result 
of  a  feeble  vitality,  and  therefore  medical  advice 
is  needed,  but  it  is  more  often  the  result  of 
pure  laziness.  Stealing  and  pilfering  are  fairly 
common  offences,  as  are  smoking  and  trafficking 
in  tobacco.  Occasionally  there  are  cases  of 
wilful  disobedience,  insolence,  and  indecency, 
and  all  such  offences  need  summary  treatment. 

The  Superintendent  has  to  keep  a  record  of 
every  punishment  and  the  nature  of  the  offence, 
which  record  is  shown  to  the  Inspector  when 
he  visits  the  school.  If  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  record  is  faithfully  kept,  it  is  a  certain 
means  of  checking  an  abuse  of  disciplinary 
powers,  but  unfortunately  past  experience  has 
not  warranted  the  supposition  that  all  the 
punishments  were  strictly  recorded. 

As  a  rule,  the  punishment  is  inflicted  by  the 
Superintendent  himself,  or  if  not  so,  either  in 
his  presence  or  by  his  authority.  One  of  the 
most  enlightened   Superintendents  makes  it  a 


CORPORAL   PUNISHMENT  95 

rule  for  the  school  doctor  to  be  present  if  he 
has  to  administer  severe  corporal  punishment. 
In  some  schools  it  is  the  practice  for  canings  or 
birchings  to  take  place  before  the  whole  school, 
or  before  selected  representatives.  For  the 
most  serious  offences  a  cane  or  birch  is  used, 
a  maximum  of  twelve  strokes  being  allowed  in 
the  Industrial  Schools  and  of  eighteen  in  the 
Reformatories.  Caning  on  the  hand  is  the 
only  other  form  of  corporal  punishment,  and 
it  is  used  for  less  serious  offences.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  in  many  schools  such  punish- 
ments as  these  are  too  frequent,  and  this  shows 
that  the  masters  are  assuming  the  animal  nature 
of  the  boys  to  be  uppermost.  An  Italian  philoso- 
pher once  said  :  "  Anyone  can  rule  by  martial 
law,  but  a  teacher  who  does  so  is  not  worthy  of 
the  name  teacher,  for  besides  being  degrading 
to  himself  it  is  a  confession  of  failure."  There 
may  be  a  few  occasions  when  corporal  punish- 
ment is  appropriate,  and  for  that  reason  it  ought 
never  to  be  used  for  ordinary  offences.  It 
should  only  be  looked  upon  as  a  medicine  to  be 
used  in  extreme  cases.  Dr.  Arnold,  in  writing 
to  a  friend,  said  that  "  the  course  of  true  wisdom 
is  not  to  make  a  boy  insensible  to  bodily  pain, 
but  to  make  him  dread  moral  evil  more."  As 
the  boys  grow  older  it  is  found  that  fear  of 
punishment  need  be  appealed  to  less,  but,  as 
the  same  great  educationalist  has  written,  "  As 


96  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

long  as  a  boy  remains  at  school  the  respect- 
ability and  immunities  of  manhood  must  be 
earned  by  manly  conduct  and  a  manly  sense 
of  duty."  It  has  always  to  be  remembered, 
however,  that  the  class  of  boys  who  find  their 
way  to  Certified  Schools  are  more  or  less 
hardened  to  corporal  punishment,  and  therefore 
it  loses  much  of  its  significance.  This  fact, 
in  addition  to  the  knowledge  that  at  present 
corporal  punishment  is,  as  a  rule,  used  far  too 
freely,  to  the  detriment  of  the  inflictors  and 
inflicted  alike,  may  lead  eventually  to  the  total 
abolition  of  what  should,  in  any  case,  be  re- 
garded as  a  medicine  for  extreme  cases. 

For  minor  offences  a  reduction  of  food  or 
solitary  confinement  is  sometimes  a  method  of 
punishment ;  but  both  these  methods  have 
obvious  dangers.  If  due  precautions  are  taken 
the  risk  is  not  insurmountable.  There  can  be 
little  doubt  that  forfeiture  of  rewards  and 
privileges,  or  degradation  from  rank  previously 
attained  by  good  conduct,  are  more  satisfactory 
methods  of  punishment. 

The  masters  have  an  exceptionally  difficult 
task,  and  they  need  much  sympathy  and  en- 
couragement. Not  only  have  they  to  cope 
with  small  boys'  mischief,  but  they  have  great 
lads  of  14  and  15,  and  in  Reformatories  many 
still  older,  who  are  wilfully  disobedient  and  per- 
sistently  dishonest.      In  addition  to    this  each 


PHYSICAL    TRAINING  97 

new  boy  is  likely  to  bring  with  him  the  germs 
of  some  moral  disease  which  will  perhaps  infect 
the  whole  school.  One  Superintendent  admits 
that  he  does  not  dread  the  influence  of  new- 
comers, because  he  is  sure  of  the  tone  of  his 
school.  This  is  probably  the  schools'  only 
security  ;  the  good  tone,  however,  will  only  be 
found  where  there  is  an  unfailing  belief  in  the 
good  which  is  in  each  boy,  and  where  self- 
discipline  and  self-control  are  more  prevalent 
than  stern  discipline  and  rigid  supervision. 

C — Physical  Training  and  Recreation 

The  majority  of  Superintendents  and 
Managers  fully  realize  the  immense  benefit  of 
systematic  physical  training  to  the  boys  in 
their  charge.  Every  school  has  a  visiting,  or 
resident,  drill  and  gymnastic  instructor,  and, 
as  a  rule,  there  is  some  form  of  drill  every 
day.  Although  much  of  this  in  the  past  was 
both  inadequate  and  unscientific,  there  is  little 
doubt  that  the  modern  schools  have  made  great 
progress.  Many  have  their  own  gymnasium, 
and  where  this  is  not  the  case  the  necessary 
apparatus  is  erected  in  the  schoolroom  or  play- 
ground. Redhill  Farm  School  has  inter-house 
competitions  which  seem  to  have  all  the  healthy 
rivalry  of  a  public  school.  The  annual  inspec- 
tion of  drill  and  gymnastics  is  a  certain  means 
7 


98  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

of  stimulating  the  boys'  interest,  and  of  main- 
taining a  high  level  of  efficiency. 

The  attention  that  is  given  to  organized 
games  is  one  of  the  most  encouraging  ways  in 
which  the  schools  have  lately  progressed. 
Many  of  the  officers  devote  themselves  with  a 
whole-hearted  zeal  to  stimulating  their  boys' 
interest  and  enthusiasm.  There  are  now  six 
athletic  associations  of  Home  Office  schools, 
and  there  are  also  annual  swimming  and  shooting 
contests  in  which  representatives  from  many 
schools  take  part.  As  long  as  it  is  possible  for 
every  boy  to  have  the  advantage  of  organized 
games,  not  merely  the  chosen  few,  their  value 
is  inestimable.  It  has  been  said  :  "  Games  do 
not  so  much  foster  the  spirit  of  rivalry,  as  they 
do  provide  an  opportunity  for  understanding 
and  controlling  this  strong  instinct."  ^  This 
being  the  case,  the  benefit  to  boys,  many  of 
whom  have  vague  ideas  of  self-control,  must 
be  very  considerable.  They  are  able  to  acquire 
the  art  of  playing  together,  besides  learning  to 
realize  the  necessity  for  the  subordination  of  the 
individual  to  the  orood  of  his  side.  A  writer 
who  has  an  intimate  knowledge  of  boy  life 
believes  that  games  are  amongst  the  foremost 
influences  upon  character  :  "  From  the  sporting 
view  of  a  game  it  is  no  appreciable  step  to  the 

I  "The  Philosophy  of  Boys'  Games,"   FeHx   Clay.      (Child 
Study.) 


RECREATION  99 


sporting  view  of  a  whole  life.      In  the  second 
as  in  the  first  we  speak  of  '  playing  cricket.'  "  ^ 

It  has  yet  to  be  learned  that  play  is  as  im- 
portant as  any  work,  particularly  if  it  is  play 
that  gives  scope  for  self-expression,  and  en- 
courages powers  of  endurance,  and  it  is  for  this 
reason  that  the  Boy  Scout  movement  is  having 
such  a  marked  success.  At  present  the  move- 
ment has  not  affected  these  schools  to  any 
serious  extent,  owing  to  the  lack  of  necessary 
funds,  and  the  difficulty  of  finding  Scout 
Masters.  Both  of  these  difficulties  might  be 
overcome  by  an  appeal  to  a  sympathetic 
general  public.  Where  the  school  curriculum 
is  considered  too  full  to  admit  the  innovation, 
some  slight  readjustment  will  be  necessary. 
It  may  be  by  less  military  drill,  which  in  spite 
of  its  disciplinary  value  has,  as  General  Baden- 
Powell  points  out,  certain  evils,  "(i)  Military 
drill  gives  a  feeble,  unimaginative  officer  a 
something  with  which  to  occupy  his  boys.  He 
does  not  consider  whether  it  appeals  to  them  or 
really  does  them  good.  It  saves  him  a  world 
of  trouble.  (2)  Military  drill  tends  to  destroy 
individuality,  whereas  we  want  in  the  Scouts 
to  develop  individual  character  ;  and  when  once 
it  has  been  learnt  it  bores  a  boy  who  is  longing 
to  be  tearing  about  on  some  enterprise  or  other  ; 
it  blunts  his  keenness  ..." 

'  "The  Growing  Generation,"  Barclay  Baron. 


100  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

The  following  explanation  of  scouting  shows 
how  much  its  aim  coincides  with  that  of  the 
more  enlightened  school  authorities.  "  From 
the  boys'  point  of  view  scouting  puts  them  into 
fraternity  gangs,  which  is  their  natural  organiza- 
tion, whether  for  games,  mischief,  or  loafing  ; 
it  gives  them  a  smart  dress  and  equipments  ; 
it  appeals  to  their  imagination  and  romance  ; 
and  it  engages  them  in  an  active,  open-air  life. 
From  the  parents'  point  of  view,  it  gives 
physical  health  and  development ;  it  teaches 
energy,  resourcefulness,  and  handicrafts  ;  it  puts 
into  the  lad  discipline,  pluck,  chivalry,  and 
patriotism :  in  a  word,  it  develops  character, 
which  is  more  essential  than  anything  else  to  a 
lad  for  making  his  way  in  life,  and  which  is  yet 
practically  untaught  in  the  schools.  The 
method  of  instruction  in  '  Scouting '  is  that 
of  creating  in  the  boy  a  desire  to  learn  for 
himself,  and  not  by  drilling  knowledge  into 
him.  From  the  national  point  of  view  our  aim 
is  solely  to  make  the  rising  generation  into 
good  citizens."  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  soon, 
in  any  case,  every  Industrial  School  will  have 
its  own  "  Troop  "  ;  the  Chief  Scout  admits  that 
he  finds  some  of  his  best  stuff  among  the 
younger  hooligans  :  "  The  simplest  way  is  to 
place  the  hooligan  in  charge  of  half  a  dozen 
boys  and  give  him  responsibility." 

The  summer  camp,   which  is  an   important 


RECREATION  101 

event  in  the  life  of  the  majority  of  schools, 
would  be  doubly  beneficial  if  the  boys  were 
organized  Scouts  ;  as  it  is,  the  boys  have  many 
opportunities  for  healthy  recreation,  and  the 
physical  benefit  to  them  is  very  apparent.  It 
is  an  excellent  opportunity  moreover  for  the 
masters  to  become  intimately  acquainted  with 
the  boys,  the  less  need  for  restraint  permitting 
them  to  be  more  on  a  level.  There  is  a  very 
real  danger  in  this  type  of  school  of  those  in 
charge  "  setting  themselves  on  pedestals,"  and 
not  entering  sufficiently  into  the  boys'  point  of 
view.  A  young  American  Industrial  School 
Superintendent  goes  with  his  boys  nearly 
every  day  for  walks  or  runs  ;  he  tries  to 
let  them  feel  that  he  is  one  of  them  in 
their  sports  and  in  their  work,  so  that  when 
the  time  comes  for  punishment,  they  realize 
that  there  is  no  personal  grudge  about  the 
treatment. 

As  a  rule  the  schools  do  very  little  to  en- 
courage reading,  the  books  which  are  available 
for  the  boys  being  often  antiquated  and  dreary. 
Although  this  is  sometimes  due  to  the  lack  of 
necessary  funds,  it  is  often  a  lack  of  foresight 
on  the  part  of  those  in  authority.  The  London' 
County  Council  circulates  boxes  of  library  books 
amongst  the  schools  with  which  it  has  agree- 
ments, but  apart  from  this,  little  effort  is  made 
to    encourage    the    boys    to    form    a   sensible 


102  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

standard  of  reading.  With  the  many  cheap 
editions  there  is  no  reason  why  they  should 
not  become  familiar  with  some  of  the  finest 
authors. 

A  conventual  life  is  an  even  more  serious 
feature  of  many  schools,  neither  boys  nor 
masters  appearing  to  take  any  interest  in  what 
is  happening  outside  of  their  own  four  walls. 
When  it  is  remembered  that  the  majority  of 
the  boys  belong  to  a  class  which  has  extremely 
vague  ideas  of  the  duties  of  citizenship,  this 
shortcoming  in  the  life  of  the  schools  is  especi- 
ally serious.  Many  Secondary  Schools  are 
trying  to  interest  their  pupils  in  matters  of  local 
and  imperial  concern  ;  sometimes  the  news  of 
the  day  is  posted  in  a  prominent  position,  and 
any  important  parliamentary  measure  is  dis- 
cussed by  the  school  debating  society.  Even 
small  boys  have  been  heard  eloquently  dis- 
cussing the  merits  of  Tariff  Reform,  and  the 
advisability  of  extending  the  franchise  to  women. 
The  George  Junior  Republic  has  shown  that  it 
is  quite  possible  to  interest  boys  in  matters  of 
government  ;  the  young  electors  and  adminis- 
trators are  found  to  fully  realize  their  responsi- 
bilities, and  they  enter  into  the  details  of  their 
work  very  seriously.  Although  their  methods 
may  not  be  altogether  adaptable  to  this  country, 
there  is  much  that  might  be  introduced  into  the 
Certified  Schools  in  order  to  prevent  their  boys 


TRAINING    IN    CITIZENSHIP         103 

from  rejoining  the  ranks  of  the  ignorant  and 
indifferent  citizens. 

With  this  class  of  boy  it  is  also  very  necessary 
to  inculcate  a  true  spirit  of  patriotism.  They 
need  to  realize  that  true  patriotism  consists  in 
active  interest  and  service,  not  merely  in  the 
hearty  singing  of  "  God  save  the  King "  or 
•'  Rule,  Britannia  "  ;  and  moreover  that  a  farmer 
or  an  industrial  labourer  may  be  just  as  patriotic 
as  a  soldier  or  a  sailor.  The  upholding  of  the 
nation's  honour  does  not  only  rest  with  its 
armed  forces.  Furthermore,  they  need  to 
realize  that  a  boy  who  boasts  of  his  country 
and  then  commits  some  wilful  act  of  dis- 
obedience forgets  his  responsibility  to  the  com- 
munity, and  a  boy  who  is  moved  by  the  story 
of  one  of  his  nation's  heroes,  and  yet  has  not 
the  courage  to  speak  the  truth,  or  to  endure  a 
little  pain  without  murmuring,  does  not  possess 
the  qualities  that  help  to  make  a  patriot.  It  is 
very  apparent  that  in  such  matters  as  these  the 
schools  still  need  to  make  considerable  progress. 
Little  has  been  done  in  the  past  to  prepare  the 
boys  for  efficient  citizenship  by  stimulating  their 
interests  in  the  national  and  civic  concerns  of 
their  country. 

D — Industrial  Training 

The  Departmental  Committee  of  1896  laid 
much  stress  on  the  fact  that  too  often  the  aim 


104  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

of  the  school  authorities  was  to  augment  their 
income  through  the  labour  of  the  boys.  The 
result  of  this  has  been  that  in  recent  years  much 
improvement  has  been  seen,  and  those  occupa- 
tions such  as  oakum-picking,  paper-bag  and 
matchbox  making,  which  have  no  educational 
value,  have  been  discontinued.  There  are  still 
a  few  schools  where  wood-chopping  is  carried 
on,  although  it  was  condemned  by  the  Com- 
mittee of  1896.  Until  the  financial  position  of 
some  of  the  schools  is  more  secure,  it  will  be 
necessary  for  them  to  supplement  their  income 
by  means  of  the  boys'  earnings,  but  this  is 
altogether  inadvisable  unless  the  occupation  is 
one  which  has  some  real  educational  value. 
Industrial  schools,  situated  in  the  towns,  some- 
times adopt  the  practice  of  sending  the  boys  in 
the  early  morning  to  clean  boots  and  knives 
in  private  houses,  while  others  are  sent  to 
shops  where  they  do  the  work  of  errand- 
boys.  Although  such  work  may  have  but 
little  direct  educational  value,  it  has  the 
advantage  of  varying  the  monotony  of  the 
school  life,  cultivating  the  boys'  self-reliance, 
and  securing  for  them  useful  friends.  As  a 
rule  such  work  is  only  for  one  hour  in  the  early 
morning. 

It  has  to  be  remembered  that  industrial 
training  must  be  organized  largely  with  a  view 
to  its  value  as  a  means  of  producing  character. 


INDUSTRIAL    TRAINING  105 

Mr.  Hastings  H.  Hart,  who  appears  to  have 
had  considerable  practical  knowledge  of  the 
industrial  training  given  to  the  boys  in  his 
country,  writes  that  in  his  experience,  "  If 
young  boys  are  to  be  used  in  productive 
manufactures  successfully,  their  training  must 
be  specialized,  and  they  must  be  kept  doing 
one  thing  at  a  high  speed."  This,  as  he  says, 
is  hopelessly  inconsistent  with  the  effort  to 
create  character.  "  Incessant  monotonous  toil 
does  not  develop  independence,  hopefulness,  or 
love  of  industry.  It  produces  a  bodily  weari- 
ness which  hinders  education  on  other  lines."  ^ 

In  every  school  nearly  all  the  clothes  are 
made  on  the  premises,  and  this  necessitates 
the  existence  of  efficient  tailoring  and  shoe- 
making  departments.  At  St.  Nicholas,  Ilford, 
there  are  stocking-making  and  mending 
machines,  and  there  is  also  a  machine  for 
making  the  jerseys  worn  by  the  boys.  The 
work  is  usually  carried  out  on  scientific  lines, 
each  boy  acquiring  some  theoretical  knowledge 
as  well  as  practical  experience.  In  carpentry 
and  tailoring  the  boys  are  taught  to  draw  dia- 
grams of  the  work  they  are  going  to  do,  and  this 
involves  neatness  and  accuracy,  both  valuable 
additions  to  their  training.  The  carpenter's 
shop  is  generally  a  prominent  feature  in   both 

>  "  Preventive  Treatment  of  Neglected  Children,"  Hastings 
H.  Hart. 


106  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

classes  of  school,  and  in  many  cases  attains  a 
high  level  of  efficiency.  The  boys  at  Regent's 
Park  Home  are  foremost  amongst  the  com- 
petitors in  the  Prize  Competition  organized 
by  the  Turners'  Company  for  Certified  Schools. 
A  few  schools,  notably  Redhill,  have  a  forge, 
and  the  boys,  besides  learning  the  ordinary 
farrier's  work,  are  able  to  learn  various  kinds  of 
metal-turning.  Bricklaying  is  not  altogether 
uncommon,  and  in  many  places  it  is  possible 
for  the  boys  to  get  some  understanding  of 
mechanics  and  electricity.  Regent's  Park 
Home  is  almost  unique  in  the  possession  of 
a  printing  shop,  which  has  become  a  paying 
concern,  and  has  the  further  advantage  in  the 
fact  that  it  trains  the  boys  in  a  skilled  occu- 
pation. Another  department  which  has  lately 
been  introduced  into  some  of  the  schools  is 
that  of  cookery,  and  boys  with  any  aptitude 
in  this  direction  may,  when  leaving  school, 
go  for  a  few  months'  training  to  the  Liverpool 
Cookery  School,  and  secure  a  certificate  which 
qualifies  them  for  a  cook's  post  on  any  of  the 
big  liners. 

One  of  the  most  popular  and  prominent 
features  in  the  life  of  the  schools  is  the  brass 
band.  The  training  has  a  very  material 
advantage  in  enabling  the  boys  to  get  good 
positions  in  army  bands,  and,  in  addition,  it  is 
generally   a   means    of    increasing   the    school 


NAUTICAL    TRAINING  107 

incomes  by  engagements  to  play  at  various 
functions  in  the  neighbourhood.  The  benefit 
of  music  of  any  description  is  very  marked 
among  boys  of  a  rough  class,  for  besides  being 
an  outlet  for  the  healthy  emotions,  it  is  an 
excellent  mental  training.  It  is  only  to  be 
regretted  that  more  boys  do  not  share  in  the 
opportunities  it  affords. 

E — Nautical  Training 

There  are  at  present  seven  Training  Ships 
and  three  Nautical  Schools  ;  three  of  them  are 
certified  as  Reformatories,  and  the  remaining 
seven  as  Industrial  Schools.  Fortunately  it 
is  no  longer  considered  necessary  to  train  a 
boy  for  the  sea  on  a  ship  afloat,  for  the  sailor 
of  to-day  is  becoming  more  and  more  of  a 
mechanic,  and  the  various  departments  of  his 
work  can  be  equally  well  learnt  ashore :  the 
fact  that,  as  a  rule,  20  to  30  per  cent  of  the 
boys  are  not  willing  or  able  to  go  to  sea,  is 
another  reason  for  keeping  in  touch  with  the 
land.  The  Mars  has  all  her  training  shops 
on  shore,  the  boys  going  to  and  fro  from  their 
work  in  the  dinghy  belonging  to  the  ship.  In 
addition  to  this,  from  the  point  of  view  of 
hygiene,  there  are  obviously  disadvantages  in 
using  the  old  ships  as  schools.  The  managers 
of     the    Akbar     and     the     Formidable    have 


108  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

recently  been  obliged  to  move  the  schools  on 
to  the  land,  the  ships'  quarters  becoming  in- 
creasingly confined  and  unhealthy. 

The  management  of  Training  Ships  is  the 
same  as  that  of  any  other  Certified  School,  and 
the  ships  are  subjected  to  the  same  amount  of 
inspection.  In  addition  they  are  periodically 
examined  by  Admiralty  Inspectors  in  matters 
of  seamanship  and  nautical  drill.  The  training 
is  rapidly  becoming  more  comprehensive  and 
scientific,  the  boys  having  to  master  a  great 
deal  of  machinery,  as  well  as  to  undergo  the 
ordinary  training  in  seamanship  and  gunnery. 
Wireless  Telegraphy  is  the  most  recent  inno- 
vation ;  the  Akbar  school  has  lately  intro- 
duced a  plant,  and  the  great  demand  not  only 
in  the  Navy,  but  in  the  Merchant  Service,  for 
boys  who  have  been  trained  in  this  most 
modern  of  sciences,  has  fully  rewarded  the 
managers  of  the  school  for  their  initial 
outlay. 

On  the  Clio  Seamanship  includes  : 

Parts  of  the  Ship,  Rigging,  etc. 

Reefing  and  Furling  Sails,  etc. 

Compass  and  Steering. 

Lead  and  Log  Lines. 

Rule  of  the  Road. 

Knotting  and  Splicing. 

Sail-making,  etc. 

Fire  Drill. 


AGRICULTURAL    TRAINING  109 

Gunnery  includes  : 

Heavy  Gun,  4-in.  B.L. 

6  P.R.,  2  F.  and  7  P.R.  Field  Gun. 

Rifle  Drill. 

Magazine  Carbine. 

Morris  Tube  Practice. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  training  that  is  given 
in  both  subjects  is  comprehensive,  and  this 
syllabus  is  typical  of  the  work  of  other  schools. 
The  technical  side  of  the  training  is  usually 
very  thorough,  and  the  boys  are  well  equipped 
when  the  time  comes  for  them  to  leave  the 
school. 

A  nautical  career  has  many  advantages  for 
boys  coming  from  an  unsatisfactory  environ- 
ment, and  the  fact  that  there  are  as  many  as 
30,000  aliens  as  compared  to  200,000  British 
seamen  indicates  that  the  career  is  one  that 
has  many  possible  openings. 

F — Agricultural  and    Horticultural 

Training 

Where  agricultural  work  is  possible  there  is 
the  great  advantage  of  equipping  the  boys  for 
a  career  which  has  so  many  openings  in  the 
colonies,  and  in  addition  it  enables  the  school 
to  be  self-supporting,  even  if  it  is  not  a  source 
of  profit.     The   life    is  eminently  suitable  for 


110  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

boys  suffering  from  the  effects  of  an  undesirable 
environment  and  a  weakly  inheritance.  Were 
it  not  for  the  lack  of  the  necessary  funds  many 
more  schools  would  leave  the  crowded  cities 
for  the  neighbouring  country-side,  for  it  is 
found  that  the  industrial  training  can  be  quite 
as  efficient,  and  the  great  advantages  derived 
from  the  healthy  surroundings  and  unlimited 
playground  more  than  recompense  the 
managers  for  any  inconvenience  which  may 
result  from  their  separation  from  the  busy  life 
of  the  city. 

Great  progress  has  lately  been  made  in 
several  schools  with  regard  to  horticultural 
training.  The  Royal  Horticultural  Society 
for  the  last  few  years  has  offered  certificates  to 
boys  under  i8  ;  the  holder  possesses  the  know- 
ledge which  should  enable  him  to  select,  lay 
out,  and  conduct  a  small  garden  on  profitable 
lines.  At  Stoke  Farm  it  is  possible  for  each 
boy  to  have  a  garden  of  his  own,  and  lately 
a  boy  was  awarded  first  prize  in  a  "  Beautiful 
Garden  Competition "  promoted  by  a  weekly 
paper  ;  the  design  was  original  and  drawn  to 
scale,  and  the  garden  was  cultivated  during 
its  owner's  spare  time.  The  same  boy  won  a 
^50  scholarship  which  will  keep  him  for  two 
years  at  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society's 
School.  Too  much  stress  cannot  be  laid  on 
the  beneficial  results  of  out-of-door  work    for 


ECONOMIC    INTEREST  111 

boys  of  a  weakly  or  nervous  disposition,  and, 
therefore,  whenever  possible  every  advantage 
should  be  taken  of  the  opportunities  it  affords. 
It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  not 
many  boys  can  be  adapted  to  the  career  of 
farming  ;  the  majority  of  them  having  come 
from  the  cities  with  town  fever  in  their  veins, 
and  so  drifting  back  to  the  city  life  on  the 
slightest  pretext.  To  force  such  boys  as 
these  to  work  on  the  land  is  to  fail  to  give 
them  an  adequate  industrial  equipment. 

G — Separation  of  the  Economic  and  the 
Industrial  Interest 

The  separation  of  the  industrial  and  economic 
interest  in  the  boys'  minds,  is  a  serious  short- 
coming. It  has  always  to  be  remembered 
that  the  aim  of  the  industrial  training  is  to 
help  the  boys  to  become  eventually  self- 
supporting  citizens,  and  therefore  they  should 
be  encouraged  to  do  in  a  similar  way  the 
things  that  they  will  be  expected  to  do  in 
adult  life.  In  a  large  American  Orphanage 
;!^i6o  is  paid  annually  in  the  children's  wages  ; 
they  learn  how  to  earn,  save,  spend,  and  give 
money.  Every  child  earning  a  dollar  a  month 
is  required  to  keep  accurate  accounts,  which 
are  regularly  criticized  by  the  masters  and 
mistresses  :  thus  it  is  possible  for  the  children 


112  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

to  gain  some  idea  of  the  value  of  money 
before  they  start  on  their  industrial  careers. 
The  Superintendent  of  this  school  argues  that 
as  the  work  the  children  do  is  necessary  work, 
it  is  better  to  pay  them  for  it  than  to  pay 
outsiders.  All  the  children  may  grow  veget- 
ables in  their  gardens  which  they  sell  to  their 
cottage-mother.  In  addition  to  this  anyone 
who  has  a  responsible  position  is  paid 
accordingly.  All  of  the  200  children  have 
opportunities  for  earning  ;  there  is  therefore 
a  great  incentive  to  work,  and  at  the  same 
time  a  convenient  means  of  maintaining  dis- 
cipline by  a  system  of  fines,  which  may 
become  a  serious  item  on  the  young  workers' 
budgets. 

It  may  not  be  possible  as  yet  to  adopt  this 
system  altogether,  but  the  introduction  of  a 
modified  form  would  be  of  great  value,  and 
would  result  in  turning  out  boys  more  equal 
to  their  American  cousins  in  matters  of  business 
capacity.  Apart  from  this  the  industrial  train- 
ing of  the  schools  is  satisfactory.  As  a  rule, 
each  boy's  taste  and  aptitude  are  taken  into 
consideration,  the  aim  being  to  create  character 
and  to  make  for  industrial  efficiency,  rather 
than  to  increase  the  school  income. 


DISPOSAL 


113 


H — Occupations   of    Boys  who   left  the 
Schools  in   1908,   1909,  and  19 id 


No.  at 

No.  St 

Occupations. 

end  of 
1911. 

Occupations. 

end  of 
1911. 

Army  : 

Labourers : 

Including  Band 

7201 
76/ 

Builders 

•     90^ 

,,        Special 

1,866 

Dock      . 

•     71 

Reservists  . 

Factories,      works 

J 

etc.     . 

.  283 

•     51 

.   129 

.     62 

Navy  : 

General 

■     797 

Including  Band 

25| 

Iron  works     . 

Royal 

309 

Mechanics 

Marines 

S-* 

Shipyard 
Mechanics. 

.   Ill 

Mercantile  marine 

677 

w 

IS6 

Coasting  trade   . 

132 

Messengers  and  porters 

348 

Fishing 

100 

Mill  workers 

190 

Bakers 

95 

Miners 

839 

41 

Blacksmiths 

66 

Ostlers 

Bricklayers,  masons,  etc.    . 

54 

Packers  and  warehousemen 

7^ 

Butchers    .... 
Carpenters,    wheelwrights, 

49 

Painters     . 

Printers 

/  J 

60 

40 

etc.     . 
Carters 

. 

211 

258 

Railway  workers 
Scholars     , 

151 

29 

Clerks 

• 

44 

Shoemakers 

186 

Dairymen  . 

• 

54 

Shop  assistants  . 

188 

Factories,  works,  etc. 

: 

Tailors 

201 

Including    glasswo 

kers, 

Waiters 

lOI 

53       •         •         • 

398 

Other  regular  employment 

>7 

Farm 

1,600 

Casual 

444 

Footmen,  page  boys, 

etc.   . 

98 

Convicted  . 

677 

Gardeners  . 

71 

Dead 

136 

Iron,  steel,  etc.,  work 

.ers    . 

299 

Unknown  . 

Total  . 

•       446 

",531 

Industrial  Careers 

The   justification    of    institutional    treatment 
for  juvenile    delinquents    depends    upon    the 
8 


114  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

degree  of  moral  and  industrial  efficiency  with 
which  the  boys  are  equipped,  when  the  time 
comes  for  them  to  enter  their  various  careers. 
Consequently,  from  the  day  of  their  arrival  at 
the  school,  to  the  day  that  they  leave,  it  must 
never  be  forgotten  that  eventually  they  are 
to  become  self-supporting  and  self-respecting 
citizens.  This  requires  a  great  deal  of  fore- 
sight on  the  part  of  the  Managers  and  Super- 
intendents, who  have  not  only  to  consider  the 
actual  capacities  of  each  boy,  but  have  also  to 
keep  in  touch  with  the  labour  market,  closely 
watching  the  supply  and  demand  of  workers 
for  the  various  trades,  and  directing  the  boys' 
training  accordingly.  The  increasing  use  of 
machinery  in  many  trades  must  naturally 
modify  much  of  the  industrial  training.  For 
example,  there  is  little  use  in  teaching  a  boy 
to  make  a  boot  throughout  by  hand,  when  he 
will  find  that  in  a  boot-factory  practically  the 
whole  process  is  done  by  machinery.  There- 
fore it  is  essential  that  with  the  specialization 
there  must  be  a  thoroughly  sound  general 
education,  so  that  each  boy  shall  acquire  a 
certain  degree  of  adaptability.  Furthermore, 
it  has  been  the  experience  of  many  Managers 
that  the  more  they  can  interest  employers  in 
the  work  of  their  school,  and  the  more  they 
from  the  beginning  consider  the  individual 
boy's  capacities,  the  easier  it  will  be  to  secure 


INDUSTRIAL    CAREERS  115 

a  satisfactory  disposal  when  the  period  of  their 
detention  is  finished.  Boys  and  Managers 
alike  have  to  realize  that  the  employer's 
interest  rests  entirely  on  the  actual  value  of  an 
applicant's  worth,  not  on  his  athletic  achieve- 
ments nor,  unfortunately,  on  his  individuality. 

With  industrial  careers,  except  in  rare 
instances,  the  task  of  supervision  rests  almost 
entirely  with  the  Superintendent  and  the 
Certified  Schools'  Agent.  Largely  as  a  result 
of  economic  changes  the  old  apprenticeship  has 
disappeared,  and  nothing  as  yet  has  come  to 
take  its  place.  Although  the  present  industrial 
system  has  not  all  its  advantages,  there  is  no 
reason  why  the  boys  who  enter  an  industrial 
career  should  not  have  the  three  essential 
conditions  of  apprenticeship,  so  well  described 
as  "  proper  supervision,  adequate  training,  and 
eventual  opening."  ^  Under  the  old  system,  till 
the  age  of  21,  and  sometimes  24,  the  apprentices 
were  under  the  direct  control  of  their  masters. 
With  the  repeal  of  the  Elizabethan  Statute  of 
Apprenticeship  in  18 14,  the  State  abandoned 
practically  all  responsibility  for  the  well-being 
of  its  embryo  artisan  population.  In  a  few 
trades,  such  as  printing,  engineering,  and 
jewellery,  where  there  is  still  a  system  of 
apprenticeship,  the  Managers  would  avail  them- 
selves of  it  more  often  were  it  not  for  the  lack 

'  "  Boy  Labour  and  Apprenticeship,"  Bray. 


116  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

of   necessary  funds.     This  difficulty   might  be 
sometimes   met  by   persuading    the   employers 
to  come   to  some    agreement  with  the   school 
authorities,  but  the  large  supply  of  boys  outside 
the  Certified  Schools,  whose  parents  are  willing 
to  defray  the  whole  cost  of  their  apprenticeship, 
makes  this  almost  impossible.     An  even  greater 
difficulty  in  the  way  of  apprenticeship   lies   in 
the  fact  that  the  majority  of  the  parents  are  not 
able  to  wait  a  few  years  for  their  boys'  earnings, 
and  even  if  this  is  not  so  there  is  often  a  lack 
of  foresight  in  the  parents'   inability  to   realize 
that    it  will    be   for  their   sons'    ultimate   good. 
It    will    be    seen  by   the  above  statistics   that 
more  than  one-third  of  the  boys  who  left  the 
schools    during    the    years    1907,    1908,    1909 
entered     definitely    industrial     careers.       The 
Juvenile     Labour     Exchange     will     in     future 
greatly  facilitate  the  work  of  school  authorities 
in    placing    the     boys,    and    in    future    every 
possible     advantage    should    be     taken    of    a 
scheme   which   aims  at    such   far-reaching    co- 
operation. 

Army  and  Navy 

Military  and  naval  careers  are  the  most 
popular  with  all  concerned.  Boys  entering  the 
Army  or  Navy  have  the  advantage  of  satisfac- 
tory supervision  and  a  continuance  of  discipline, 
which   may  be  very  necessary   for   many  who 


ARMY    AND    NAVY  117 

leave  Certified  Schools.  The  statistics  show 
that  the  great  majority  of  the  boys  join  the 
band,  which  is  a  skilled  profession,  and  a  great 
number  join  as  tailors  and  cooks,  but  compara- 
tively few  become  mere  "  rankers."  It  has 
always  to  be  remembered  that  the  services, 
especially  the  Army,  have  the  same  disadvan- 
tage for  the  ex-Certified  School  boys  that  they 
have  for  any  other  boys,  namely,  that  unless 
they  are  able  to  work  their  way  through  the 
ranks  they  are  eventually  cast  upon  the  labour 
market  without  any  industrial  qualifications. 
Such  men  as  these  have  generally  to  earn  their 
living  as  casual  labourers,  unless  they  have  the 
good  fortune  to  be  found  more  satisfactory 
employment  by  their  officers,  or  by  some  asso- 
ciation for  befriending  young  soldiers.  The 
period  of  service  admittedly  tides  over  several 
of  the  most  difficult  years  in  their  lives,  and  it 
remains  to  be  seen  if  the  Army  can  give  the 
young  soldiers  some  industrial  qualifications 
during^their  seven  years'  service. 

Agriculture 

An  agricultural  career  is  becoming  increasingly 
popular  with  the  school  authorities  owing  to  the 
great  openings  in  the  Colonies  and  the  facilities 
offered  by  Welsh  farms.  A  great  many  boys, 
particularly  those  from    Industrial  Schools,  are 


118  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

sent  to  Wales.      Unfortunately  the  accommoda- 
tion provided  for  the  boys  has  sometimes  been 
very  inadequate,  which  shows  the  necessity  for 
continued  supervision.    The  question  of  emigra- 
tion is  immensely  important,  for  the  benefit  it 
gives  the  boys  of  an  entirely  new  start  in  the 
invigorating     and    stimulating    atmosphere    of 
a   new    country    is    inestimable.       The    Chief 
Inspector  of  British   Immigrant  Children  and 
Receiving  Homes  in  Canada,  in  his  Report  for 
1 9 1 1 ,  estimates  that  the  demand  for  boy  and  girl 
immigrants    was   eight    times    larger  than  the 
supply.     It  is  reassuring  to  the  school  authori- 
ties to  know  that  owing  to  the  vigilance  of  the 
inspectorate,  and    the    many    precautions    that 
are  taken,  the  children  will  be  as  well  cared  for 
in  Canada  as  they  would  be  in  England.     An 
Inspector  visits  every  home  where  a  child  is 
placed,  at  least  once  a  year,  and  gives  a  report 
on  its  health    and    character.      The  Canadian 
farmers    depend    very   largely   on   the  help  of 
young  immigrants,  and  although   the  Govern- 
ment promises  the  latter  no  exceptional  privi- 
leges   it   ensures    that,    "  the    utmost    possible 
justice,  fair  play,  and  liberality  will  be  afforded 
them."  ^     Certain    inquiries   are    made    by  the 
Colonial  agents  as  to  the  character  and  parent- 
age of  young  immigrants,  and  only  those  that 

'  Report    of    the   Chief    Inspector    of    British    Immigrant 
Children,  191 1. 


HORTICULTURE  119 

are  physically  and  mentally  sound  have  a  chance 
of  being  accepted.  In  order  that  they  should 
not  outstep  their  welcome  it  is  necessary  for 
the  authorities  at  home  to  facilitate,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  work  of  the  Colonial  representa- 
tives whose  duty  it  is  to  examine  the  children. 

Horticulture 

Gardening  is  a  profession  which  is  also  in- 
creasingly popular,  and  it  is  one  that  has  many 
advantages  owing  to  the  fact  that  it  is  skilled 
work  with  a  number  of  possible  openings,  which 
are  still  further  increased  by  the  introduction  of 
intensive  culture  and  other  scientific  methods. 
Moreover,  it  is  one  of  the  most  healthy  careers 
and  is  therefore  eminently  suitable  for  boys 
who  are  at  all  deficient.  Although  such  boys 
as  these  may  never  have  the  intellectual  power 
and  initiative  necessary  for  the  more  scientific 
gardening,  there  is  a  great  deal  of  work  which 
will  not  tax  their  limited  capacities  too  severely. 

Taking  them  as  a  whole,  the  schools  are 
doing  excellent  work  as  regards  the  disposal  of 
their  boys  ;  they  are  giving  them  such  sound 
training  that  they  are  often  far  better  equipped 
than  the  boys  leaving  Elementary  Schools,  who 
start  their  industrial  career  at  the  early  age  of  14 
with  little  or  no  manual  training  and  not  much 
idea  of  discipline.     The  Managers  are  contin- 


120  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

ually  faced  with  the  problem  caused  by  a  certain 
number  of  boys  who  will  never  be  skilled  work- 
men and,  unless  many  precautions  are  taken, 
will  simply  swell  the  ranks  of  casual  labourers, 
or  perhaps  the  "  ins  and  outs  "  of  the  prison  or 
workhouse  population.  For  such  boys  as  these 
it  is  generally  found  that  agriculture  is  the 
safest  career ;  but  because  it  is  not  always 
possible,  or  even  advisable,  to  insist  on  a  town 
boy  going  on  the  land,  the  school  authorities  are 
continually  perplexed  as  to  the  best  equipment 
for  such  boys.  The  most  experienced  Super- 
intendents consider  that  it  is  generally  possible 
to  instil  a  certain  degree  of  skill  in  one  branch 
of  work,  even  if  the  boy  is  slightly  deficient. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  before  long  Government 
provisions  will  be  made  for  all  who  are  definitely 
feeble-minded  :  when  this  comes  about  the 
number  of  "  casuals  "  and  "  convicted  "  will 
without  doubt  be  greatly  diminished.  The 
urgency  for  legislation  of  this  kind  is  becoming 
increasingly  apparent,  the  schools  having  con- 
stantly to  send  boys  out  into  the  world  whom 
they  know  will  come  to  no  good  and  only 
become  a  burden  on  the  State. 

I — Supervision  and  After-Care 

The  question  of  the  after-care  of  the  boys 
is   naturally  very  important,   and   in   the   well- 


AFTER-CARE  121 

managed  schools  it  is  one  which  is  continually 
under  consideration.  In  Industrial  Schools  the 
boys  are  under  the  control  of  the  Superintendent 
until  they  are  18,  and  during  these  two  years 
they  are  liable  to  be  recalled  at  any  moment 
if  their  conduct  is  unsatisfactory.  With  Re- 
formatories the  question  of  after-care  is  more 
difficult,  because  the  majority  of  the  boys  only 
leave  the  school  when  they  are  18,  and 
although  they  are  under  authority  until  they 
are  19,  it  is  found  extremely  difficult  to  make 
a  boy  of  that  age  submit  to  any  sort  of  control. 
This  points  to  the  advisability  of  doing  every- 
thing possible,  while  they  are  still  at  school, 
to  teach  them  self-control  and  self-discipline. 
There  would  probably  not  be  this  difficulty 
if  the  discipline  of  the  schools  was  less  re- 
pressive and  demanded  more  of  the  boys' 
sense  of  responsibility  and  initiative. 

One  of  the  principal  means  of  obtaining 
information  as  to  the  boys'  progress  is  the 
report  which  the  employer  is  asked  to  send, 
at  first  monthly,  and  afterwards  quarterly. 
Whenever  possible  the  Superintendent  visits 
the  boys,  and  if  the  school  is  not  far  away 
the  boys  are  invited  to  attend  an  Annual 
Reunion.  Any  system  of  correspondence  is 
much  to  be  encouraged,  and  for  the  great 
majority  of  boys  it  is  the  principal  means  of 
keeping   in  touch   with    their  old  school.      At 


122  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

the  Regent's  Park  Home  the  boys  every  year 
print  a  "  Budget  "  containing  the  news  of  the 
school  and  the  address  and  occupation  of  all 
the  old  boys  whose  whereabouts  are  known. 
The  "  Budget"  is  widely  circulated,  and  appre- 
ciative letters  are  received  from  all  parts  of 
the  world  ;  there  is  little  doubt  that  it  helps 
the  Managers  in  their  work  of  after-care,  while 
at  the  same  time  it  is  a  means  of  rousing  a 
true  esp7'it  de  co7'ps.  Each  number  contains 
an  invitation  to  every  old  boy  to  be  present 
at  "  Founder's  Day,"  one  of  the  most  popular 
institutions  of  the  school. 

The  school  authorities  always  have  to  re- 
member that  the  contrast  of  the  solitary  life 
of  the  boy  engaged  in  industrial  or  agricultural 
work,  after  the  busy  life  of  the  school  where 
he  was  one  of  many,  may  have  a  serious  effect 
upon  his  character.  To  avoid  this,  it  is  found 
desirable  to  introduce  him  to  some  club  or 
similar  organization,  where  he  will  still  have 
the  advantages  of  physical  and  moral  training, 
besides  enjoying  the  companionship  of  the 
workers  and  other  members  of  the  club. 
Probably  much  more  might  be  done  in  interest- 
ing voluntary  workers  in  the  welfare  of  the 
boys.  It  is  in  such  work  that  the  Managers 
can  be  of  the  greatest  assistance  by  looking 
after  a  few  old  boys  themselves  or  passing 
them  on  to  friends.     Great  care  is  needed  in 


AUXILIARY    HOMES  123 

the  choice  of  such  friends,  for  there  have  been 
instances  where  the  work  of  the  school  has 
been  vitiated  owing  to  the  influence  of  those 
who  were  asked  "  to  keep  an  eye  on  the 
boys."  The  ideal  would  be  for  no  boy  to 
leave  school  without  being  the  nominal  ward 
of  some  one  who  was  willing  to  take  an  active 
interest  in  his  career. 

Homes  in  connection  with  Certified  Schools 

Where  a  boy  should  live  when  he  is  working 
in  an  industrial  career,  and  is  not  able  to 
return  to  his  home,  is  an  important  question. 
A  few  schools  have  combined  in  founding  an 
Auxiliary  Home  for  such  boys,  but  for  the 
large  majority  accommodation  has  to  be  found 
with  some  suitable  working-class  family.  There 
are  usually  hostels  for  working-boys  in  every 
large  town,  and  although  independent  of  the 
Certified  Schools  they  are  willing  to  co-. 
operate  with  them.  It  is  wiser  for  the  boys 
to  live  where  they  can  have  a  certain  amount 
of  supervision,  and  where  there  are  at  the 
same  time  many  opportunities  for  healthy  re- 
creation. 

The  Certified  Schools   Agency 

The  Certified  Schools'  Agency  was  started 
in   1906  for  the  purpose  of  helping  the  Super- 


124  YOUNG    DELINQUENTS 

intendents  in  their  work  of  after-care.  There 
are  at  present  three  officers,  who  have  their 
head-quarters  in  Bristol,  Birmingham,  and 
Liverpool  ;  their  work  is  directed  by  a  Super- 
visory Committee,  and  the  records  and  accounts 
are  open  to  the  Home  Office  Inspectors. 
Owing  to  the  expense,  comparatively  few 
schools  make  use  of  the  Agency,  the  charge 
being  -^d.  per  head  per  week  if  it  is  used 
for  the  whole  school ;  the  Reformatories  are 
better  able  to  afford  this,  owing-  to  their 
possessing  the  Reformatory  Aid  Grant  of 
;^8,ooo  per  annum  ;  but,  beyond  making  use 
of  the  Agency  for  individual  cases,  the  Industrial 
Schools  rarely  make  further  use  of  its  services. 
There  are  many  instances  where  it  is  impossible 
for  the  Superintendents  to  visit  their  old  boys, 
or  to  investigate  the  condition  of  their  homes 
before  permitting  them  to  return,  and  there- 
fore, if  the  Agency  was  financed  by  the  State, 
many  more  schools  would  be  assisted  in  the 
arduous  work  of  after-care. 

The  position  of  Certified  Schools'  Agent 
has  many  possibilities,  and  needs  a  man  of 
considerable  ability  ;  not  only  can  he  assist 
in  finding  suitable  situations  for  the  boys  as 
they  leave  school,  but  he  can  do  much  in  the 
direction  of  securing  for  them  healthy  recrea- 
tion. It  is  here  that  the  after-care  has  been 
especially  inadequate.     M  uch  more  needs  to  be 


CERTIFIED    SCHOOLS'    AGENCY      125 

done  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  the  many 
associations  and  organizations  which  exist  for 
the  purpose  of  providing  the  young  working- 
class  population  adequate  means  of  recreation, 
physical  training,  and  intellectual  development. 


CHAPTER  VlTl 

GIRLS'   REFORMATORY  AND   INDUSTRIAL   SCHOOLS 

A — The  General  Appearance  of  the  Girls. 
B — Discipline  and  Punishment. 
C — Physical  Training  and  Recreation. 
D — Industrial  Training. 

E — Occupations  of  the  Girls  who  left  the  Schools  in  1908,  1909, 
1910. 

1.  Service. 

2.  Laundry. 

3.  Emigration. 

F — Supervision  and  After-care. 

1.  Homes  in  connection  with  Certified  Schools. 

2.  The  Work  of  the  M.A.B.Y.S. 

A — The  General  Appearance  of  the 

Girls 

THE  lack  of  individuality  in  the  girls' 
appearance  in  many  Certified  Schools  is 
a  most  distressing  feature.  There  are  naturally 
advantages  in  a  uniform  style  of  dress  for 
reasons  of  economy,  and  for  minimizing  the 
chance  of  rivalry  ;  but  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  in  the  past  the  dress  has  been  unneces- 
sarily plain  and  unbecoming.  It  is  true  that 
many  schools,  especially  those  belonging  to 
the    Roman    Catholics   and    a    few   other    In- 

126 


UNIFORM  127 

dustrial  Schools,  are  trying  to  introduce  a 
certain  amount  of  variety  in  the  dress,  and  in 
these  schools  the  girls'  improved  appearance 
is  remarkable.  There  is  surely  no  need  for 
the  sfirls  in  Certified  Schools  to  be  dressed  so 
differently  from  others. 

The  fact  that  it  is  a  true  feminine  instinct 
to  care  for  pretty  clothes  has  been  practically 
ignored  by  the  school  authorities.  The  girls' 
standard  of  what  is  pretty  may  be  a  very 
perverted  one,  but  it  will  remain  so  unless 
they  are  given  an  opportunity  for  acquiring" 
a  higher  standard.  Even  the  working  uniform 
need  not  be  quite  so  "drear"  in  colour  and 
shape,  and  many  modifications  could  easily 
be  made  in  the  other  dresses. 

In  most  cases  it  is  found  necessary  to  cut 
the  girls'  hair  quite  short  when  they  first  come 
to  the  school,  and  until  comparatively  lately 
in  the  majority  of  schools  it  has  been  kept 
short  till  just  before  the  girls  go  to  service. 
Some  schools  are  now  finding  that  if  the  hair 
is  cut  short  to  begin  with,  and  a  few  extra 
precautions  are  taken,  there  is  no  reason  to 
interfere  with  its  natural  growth,  and  the 
quality  of  the  hair  steadily  improves  with  the 
girls'  physical  improvement.  There  is  natur- 
ally a  certain  amount  of  risk,  but  the  more 
natural  and  attractive  appearance  of  the  girls 
repays  the  mistresses   for  the  extra  care  that 


128  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

is  needed.  Many  girls  of  this  class  have  never 
learned  self-respect  ;  but  it  is  acquired  with 
difficulty  if  they  are  unable  to  take  a  pride 
in  their  personal  appearance.  Furthermore, 
it  is  natural  that  on  becoming  independent  of 
the  schools  they  should  sometimes  choose  an 
extravagant  and  absurd  mode  of  dress  that  is 
the  despair  of  their  mistresses.  It  would  be 
a  sounder  policy  to  help  them  to  form  a 
standard  of  what  is  suitable  while  they  are 
still  at  school. 

B — Discipline  and  Punishment 

The  general  character  of  the  girls  depends 
to  a  large  extent  upon  the  moral  atmosphere 
of  the  school,  and  it  is  in  this  respect  that 
the  schools  differ  most  widely.  In  some  places 
it  is  customary  to  speak  of  the  staff  as  the 
"  Officers,"  and  there  is  a  general  atmosphere 
of  repression.  Even  during  recreation  the 
girls  are  half-hearted,  unless,  as  is  often  the 
case,  they  are  unnaturally  wild  as  a  result  of 
the  unreasonably  stern  discipline  they  have 
been  subjected  to  whilst  at  work.  As  a  con- 
trast to  such  schools  as  these  there  are  many 
where  the  staff  are  spoken  of  as  the  "  Mis- 
tresses," or  as  the  "  Sisters."  There  is  a 
general  atmosphere  of  homeliness  and  happi- 
ness ;  the  girls  look  happy  and  natural,  they 
are  proud  of   being   trusted,   and  are  able   to 


DISCIPLINE  129 

prove  themselves  worthy  of  trust.  Many 
schools  are  standing  mid-way  ;  they  have 
thrown  off  much  that  is  typical  of  the  worst 
type  of  school,  and  yet  they  are  still  a  long- 
way  below  the  almost  ideal  standard  attained 
by  the  few. 

The  great  majority  of  schools  rely  on  a 
mark  system  with  money  rewards  to  encourage 
good  conduct,  and  in  many  cases  it  seems  to 
have  the  desired  effect.  It  is  most  desirable 
that  the  girls  should  have  a  little  money  of 
their  own,  even  if  it  is  only  to  encourage 
them  in  ways  of  thrift ;  id.  2i  week  can  be 
spent  wisely.  Everything  that  rouses  the 
girls'  self-reliance  and  sense  of  responsibility 
is  a  sure  means  of  securing  a  good  tone  in 
the  school  ;  therefore  it  is  probably  wiser  to 
let  the  girls  have  their  own  pennies  to  spend, 
or  save  as  they  will,  than  to  let  it  accumulate 
week  by  week  in  the  Savings  Bank,  without 
the  earners  having  had  an  opportunity  of 
handling  it.  As  a  rule,  the  mark  system  works 
remarkably  well,  but  there  are  instances  where 
the  form  is  more  apparent  than  the  spirit,  and 
in  such  cases  as  these  the  system  seems  both 
inefficient  and  unmoral.  The  existence  of  an 
Honours  Board  in  some  schools,  upon  which 
the  girls'  names  are  written  week  by  week  in 
order  of  merit,  is  apparently  an  additional  in- 
centive to  good  conduct. 
9 


130  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

The  absence  of  any  idea  of  trusting  the  girls 
is  a  serious  fault  which  is  to  be  found  in  the 
majority  of  schools.  Everything,  from  the 
Superintendent's  room  to  the  smallest  cup- 
board, is  kept  under  lock  and  key,  the  reason 
being  that  the  girls  are  never  for  a  moment 
to  be  trusted,  many  of  them  having  been  sent 
to  the  school  because  of  their  pilfering  habits. 
If  it  is  true  that  the  girls  are  not  to  be  trusted, 
it  is  doubtless  because  they  have  never  had 
any  opportunity  for  proving  the  contrary  since 
they  came  to  the  school.  To  keep  everything 
under  lock  and  key  is  to  cast  a  slur  upon 
human  nature,  and  to  believe  that  the  girls 
are  incapable  of  responding  to  what  is  highest 
and  best.  There  are  a  few  schools  where  this 
is  not  the  case,  and  the  difference  is  imme- 
diately apparent ;  it  sometimes  happens  that 
should  the  girls  go  to  service  and  find  every 
cupboard  kept  locked  they  receive  a  rude 
shock,  and  come  back  almost  tearfully  to  their 
old  mistress  for  an  explanation. 

Many  of  those  in  authority  have  yet  to  learn 
that  repression  is  always  evil.  Servility  is 
not  the  true  basis  for  respect  or  reverence. 
Some  schools  are  so  anxious  to  turn  out 
"  smart  little  servants  who  know  their  proper 
places"  that  the  individual  needs  are  neglected, 
and  the  girls  have  little  initiation  and  self- 
reliance.     In   the  past   Managers  and    Super- 


CORPORAL  PUNISHMENT  131 

intendents  have  been  apt  to  lay  too  great  a 
stress  upon  results.  When  each  girl's  char- 
acter is  first  taken  into  consideration,  and  her 
spiritual  nature  fostered,  the  results  follow  of 
themselves,  and  they  are  not  found  unsatis- 
factory. 

PiinisJiment 

Corporal  punishment  is  seldom  used  in  the 
best-managed  schools,  but  many  Superin- 
tendents have  found  that  there  are  certain 
cases  where  it  is  desirable,  although  such  cases 
may  only  occur  once  every  three  or  four  years. 
The  London  County  Council  refuse  their  top 
grant  to  schools  which  use  such  drastic  methods, 
and  the  Model  Rules  issued  by  the  Home 
Office  for  the  guidance  of  Managers  contain 
a  provision  forbidding  the  use  of  any  corporal 
punishment  in  girls'  schools.  In  some  of  the 
older  schools,  where  the  rules  were  sanctioned 
by  the  Home  Office  many  years  ago,  corporal 
punishment  is  permitted.  As  long  as  such 
punishment  is  used  for  very  exceptional  cases 
and  at  long  intervals  it  may  be  justifiable  for 
the  younger  girls.  One  Superintendent  con- 
siders the  moral  effect  of  corporal  punishment 
upon  the  whole  school  is  almost  as  great  as 
it  is  upon  the  delinquent  herself ;  but  in  this 
school  the  others  would  not  be  so  affected  were 
it   not    for  the  fact   that  there  is  often  some 


132  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

years'  interval  between  every  such  punishment. 
When  the  teachers  are  constantly  tapping  the 
children  on  the  hand  for  the  slightest  offence 
the  punishment  has  no  lasting  effect  ;  but  if 
such  a  punishment  is  rarely  used,  and  then 
made  painffjl,  the  effect  will  be  permanent  on 
the  offender  and  her  companions.  Three  or 
four  sharp  strokes  on  the  palm  of  the  hand 
are  usually  sufficient  to  rouse  a  child  to  the 
sense  of  her  culpability,  but  it  should  be  rarely 
if  ever  inflicted  on  a  child  over  twelve  years 
of  age.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that 
the  Superintendent  should  inflict  the  punish- 
ment when  she  herself  is  perfectly  calm,  and 
the  delinquent  must  be  made  to  realize  that 
she  is  not  the  only  sufferer.  The  risks  of 
such  punishment,  however,  are  so  great  that, 
as  with  the  boys'  schools,  it  may  be  necessary 
to  prohibit  it  altogether. 

The  punishments  have  always  to  be  recorded 
in  the  Punishment  Book,  with  a  description 
of  the  offence  for  which  they  were  given. 
Other  than  corporal  punishment  the  methods 
are  often  quaint,  and  sometimes  unfortunately 
degrading.  Sending  the  girls  to  bed  is  a 
very  popular  and  effective  means  of  punish- 
ment, for  it  is  often  found  that  naughtiness 
is  a  result  of  physical  ill-health.'  Confining 
a  child  with  her  own  resentful  thoughts  may 
be   very  harmful ;  but  there   is  a  certain  type 


PUNISHMENTS  133 

of  girl  who  is  always  anxious  to  attract 
attention,  and  when  exemplary  behaviour 
meets  with  no  success  she  will  resort  to  wilful 
disobedience  or  insolence.  For  such  a  girl  a 
few  hours'  separation  from  her  companions 
is  a  most  efficacious  means  of  bringing  her  to 
reason.  Extra  bed-making  and  scrubbing  are 
other  means  of  punishment,  but  unless  great 
precautions  are  taken  such  punishments  as 
these  have  the  disastrous  effect  of  giving  the 
girls  a  distaste  for  their  work.  It  is  unwise 
to  make  work  for  a  delinquent,  but  there  is 
always  something  that  has  to  be  done,  whether 
it  is  knitting  an  inch  or  two  of  stocking  while 
the  others  are  at  play,  or  spending  a  little 
longer  over  the  needlework,  both  of  which 
are  found  useful  means  of  punishment  in  some 
schools.  With  the  younger  girls  the  Super- 
intendents sometimes  resort  to  "slippering" 
or  "spanking";  these  methods  are  unwise, 
and  apt  to  be  degrading  to  inflicter  and  in- 
flicted alike.  In  some  schools  if  the  girls  are 
naughty  they  wear  a  distinctive  mark  on  their 
dress ;  in  one  place,  till  quite  recently,  they 
wore  their  working  dress  inside-out  for  a  day 
or  two.  Here  again  the  methods  are  apt  to 
be  degrading,  and  to  rouse  a  resentful  spirit 
in  the  girl's  mind  which  entirely  defeats  the 
purpose  of  the  punishment.  If  due  precautions 
are  taken  it  is  found  that  to  deprive  the  girls 


134  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

of  their  food  is  an  efficient  means  of  bringing 
them  to  task,  but  it  is  naturally  important  that 
every  care  should  be  taken  not  to  curtail  the 
much-needed  nutrition  for  long  at  a  time.  A 
great  many  schools  rely  almost  entirely  upon 
the  deprivation  of  privileges,  and  this  is  one 
of  the  wisest  punishments.  Even  here  there 
is  a  danger  of  rousing  a  resentful  spirit  in  the 
delinquent  and  a  self-satisfied  spirit  in  those 
who  are  able  to  enjoy  the  privileges. 

Stern  words  quietly  spoken  by  a  loved  and 
respected  teacher  have  often  far  more  effect 
than  any  amount  of  punishment.  If  this  should 
fail,  there  must  be  a  direct  appeal  to  the 
reasonableness  of  the  delinquent,  as,  for 
example,  by  helping  an  incorrigible  pilferer 
to  feel  a  respect  for  ownership,  or  by  helping 
a  bad-tempered  girl  to  realize  the  principle  of 
self-control.  At  the  same  time  the  girls  must 
be  made  to  realize  that  they  are  members  of  a 
community,  and  if  one  does  wrong  the  others 
suffer.  In  the  best-managed  schools  punish- 
ment is  rare  ;  a  strong  public  opinion  amongst 
the  girls  prevents  the  most  insubordinate  from 
incurring  the  disapproval  of  their  companions. 
With  girls,  owing  to  the  constant  danger  of 
''sulks"  and  self-justification,  the  question  of 
punishment  is  of  the  utmost  importance.  Once 
there  is  a  right  spirit  in  the  school,  it  is  seen 
that  inhibition   is  better   than  prohibition,  and 


PHYSICAL  TRAINING  135 

to  appeal  to  the  best  that  is  in  the  girls  is  a  far 
wiser  course  than  peremptorily  to  condemn 
what  is  wrong. 


C — Physical  Training  and  Recreation 

The  majority  of  the  schools  have  some  form 
of  compulsory  drill,  and  although  in  the  past  it 
was  often  unscientific,  and  therefore  had  little 
appreciable  effect  on  the  girls,  there  are  now 
many  signs  of  waking  consciousness  on  the  part 
of  the  Managers  to  the  continued  need  of 
improvement  in  this  respect.  At  present,  for 
the  most  part,  the  methods  in  use  are  anti- 
quated, and  the  time  allotted  to  drill  is  woefully 
insufficient.  The  importance  of  giving  the 
girls  a  sound  physical  training  is  very  great,  and 
no  effort  should  be  spared  to  make  not  only  the 
future  domestic  servants,  but  the  future  mothers 
more  alert  in  their  movements  and  more  phy- 
sically sound. 

In  a  very  few  schools  there  are  organized 
games  which  are  beneficial  in  every  way.  At 
Coventry  Industrial  Schools  there  is  regular 
hockey  in  the  winter,  and  this  appears  to  be 
very  popular  with  the  girls.  In  some  of  the 
American  schools  a  great  deal  is  done  in  this 
direction  ;    the   benefit  of  getting  the  girls  to 


136  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

play  together  and  to  learn  to  take  defeat  is  fully- 
realized.  It  is  in  such  matters  as  these  that 
outsiders  might  take  more  interest  in  the 
schools,  and  coach  the  girls  in  hockey,  tennis, 
basket-ball,  or  any  other  organized  game.  At 
Coventry  the  hockey  is  entirely  managed  by  a 
resident  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  this  has  the 
advantage  of  giving  the  members  of  the  staff  a 
much-needed  rest. 

A  certain  number  of  schools  situated  in  the 
towns  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunities 
afforded  by  the  public  baths,  and  every  girl 
learns  to  swim,  and  this  greatly  adds  to  the 
pleasure  of  those  who  are  fortunate  enough  to 
go  to  the  seaside  for  their  summer  holidays. 
In  a  few  schools  the  girls  are  taught  Morris 
dancing  ;  probably  much  more  might  be  done 
in  this  direction,  combining  as  it  does  thorough 
recreation  and  physical  exercise.  Acting  is  a 
notable  feature  in  a  few  schools,  especially  in 
those  belonging  to  the  Roman  Catholics.  It 
affords  a  splendid  outlet  for  the  healthy  emo- 
tions, beside  encouraging  self-reliance  and 
correct  elocution. 

The  treats  are,  as  a  rule,  frequent  at  Christ- 
mas-time and  in  the  summer,  but  often  they 
are  rather  wholesale,  and  do  not  demand  the 
best  of  the  grirls'  natures.  At  one  school  the 
principal  Christmas  treat  takes  the  form  of 
giving  an  entertainment  to  the  neighbours,  and 


RECREATION  137 

the  girls  learn  the  pleasure  of  being  hostesses 
and  themselves  the  entertainers.  In  the 
summer,  whenever  possible  in  the  case  of 
town  schools,  it  is  customary  to  take  the  girls 
to  the  seaside  or  country  for  a  few  weeks,  and 
whilst  there  the  rules  are  relaxed  as  much  as 
possible. 

In  many  American  schools  a  great  deal  of 
attention  is  given  to  the  musical  training  of  the 
girls  ;  in  several  places  there  are  string  orches- 
tras, and  in  one  school  there  is  even  a  brass 
band.  The  influence  of  music  is  unmistakable 
on  somewhat  rough  natures,  and  it  is  a  pity 
that  there  is  not  more  of  it  in  the  English 
schools  other  than  class  singing  ;  but  in  this, 
as  in  much  else,  there  is  a  spirit  of  conser- 
vatism. 

The  Managers  and  Superintendents,  many 
of  whom  are  elderly,  have  often  not  had  the 
pleasure  which  is  derived  from  strenuous 
physical  exercise  and  healthy  recreation  in  their 
own  youth.  This  fact,  coupled  with  their  con- 1 
stant  dread  of  unfitting  the  girls  for  service, 
makes  them  somewhat  loath  to  encourage  any 
innovation  in  this  direction.  They  think  that 
if  a  girl  learns  dancing  and  music  she  will  be 
unfitted  for  a  life  where  she  has  to  spend  the 
greater  part  of  her  free  time  in  a  basement 
kitchen  or  a  dingy  servants'  hall.  Those  in 
authority  are  sometimes  apt  to  forget  that  it  is 


138  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

the  instinct  of  all  young  creatures  to  play  and 
exercise  their  limbs,  and,  moreover,  that  this 
instinct  is  a  very  healthy  one,  and  ought  to  be 
encouraged.  It  would  be  far  wiser  to  give  a 
servant  girl  some  opportunities  for  real  recrea- 
tion than  to  drive  her  surreptitiously  to  read 
penny  novelettes  because  she  knows  of  no 
healthier  means  of  recreation  and  diversion. 
In  this  respect  the  mistresses  need  reforming 
as  much  as  the  Managers  and  Superintendents. 
One  of  the  most  enlightened  Superintendents 
has  lately  tried  to  make  her  girls  appreciate 
Shakespeare,  but  she  was  so  severely  blamed 
by  some  of  the  mistresses  for  filling  their  young 
servants'  heads  with  worthless  ideas  and  un- 
necessary aspirations,  that  she  has  been  dis- 
couraged from  making  further  efforts  in  this 
direction. 

Much  depends  on  the  associations  which  are 
formed  in  the  girls'  minds  during  their  im- 
pressionable years  at  school.  If  these  associa- 
tions are  healthy  and  pleasant,  they  will  help  to 
carry  the  girls  through  what  must  often  be  a 
very  arduous  and  monotonous  day's  work. 
When  the  time  comes  for  them  to  have  homes 
of  their  own,  there  will  be  a  safe  foundation  to 
build  upon,  and  they  will  not  want  to  satisfy 
their  pent-up  craving  for  excitement  and  diver- 
sion by  insatiable  novel-reading  and  frequent 
visits  to  music-halls  and  picture  palaces. 


EFFICIENCY   OF  TRAINING  139 

D — Industrial  Training 

In  the  matter  of  industrial  training  there  is 
practically  no  variety  in  the  schools  other  than 
housework,  laundry-work,  and  a  certain  amount 
of  needlework  and  dressmaking.  As  regards 
the  efficiency  of  the  training,  however,  there  is 
considerable  difference.  Many  schools  still 
appear  to  believe  in  the  potency  of  hard 
labour,  and  the  wholesale  nature  of  much  of 
the  work  affords  unlimited  opportunities  for 
carrying  out  such  a  policy.  Such  work  as  this, 
which  fails  to  rouse  any  interest  or  to  demand 
any  individual  skill,  has  the  result  of  turning 
out  the  "  institution  girl  "  who  is  the  despair  of 
her  mistress,  and  is  at  the  best  a  competent 
machine.  There  are  many  large  schools  where 
the  work  is  better  arranged,  and  where  every- 
thing possible  is  done  to  arouse  the  girls' 
interest,  and  to  avoid  any  risk  of  making  the 
work  distasteful  to  them.  It  is  now  being 
realised  that  housewifery  is  an  art,  and  theory 
is  essential  to  practice ;  more  enlightened 
Managers  are  therefore  introducing  house- 
wifery classes,  and  this  is  a  great  step  towards 
the  abolition  of  the  machine-like  methods  which 
still  exist  in  many  schools. 

It  has  often  been  found  in  the  past  that  a 
servant  trained  in  an  institution  has  little  or  no 
idea  of  the  methods  of  an  ordinary  household, 


140  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

because,  unless  she  has  had  an  opportunity  of 
waiting  on  the  Superintendent  and  Mistresses, 
her  training  has  been  confined  to  scrubbing 
and  the  most  elementary  housework.  In  many 
schools,  because  work  has  had  to  be  found  for 
the  girls,  there  has  been  little  or  none  of  the 
domestic  machinery  used  which  exists  in  the 
average  household.  It  has  been  found  occa- 
sionally that  the  girls  do  not  even  know  how  to 
use  a  broom,  not  only  because  of  the  absence 
of  carpets  in  the  schools,  but  also  owing  to  the 
everlasting  scrubbing  which  was  considered  a 
wholesome  discipline  and  a  satisfactory  means 
of  employment.  At  Nazareth  House  each  girl 
learns  to  "  turn  out  "  and  dust  a  model  sitting- 
room  and  bedroom.  Both  rooms  are  kept  well 
supplied  with  ornaments  of  every  description, 
which  accustom  the  girls  to  be  careful  in  their 
work,  with  the  result  that  when  they  go  to 
service  they  do  not  make  havoc  of  everything 
which  is  of  a  somewhat  fragile  nature.  Some 
such  scheme  as  this  exists  in  several  schools 
and  helps  to  make  the  training  far  more 
efficient. 

The  laundry  is  usually  a  source  of  profit  to 
the  schools,  and  the  quickest  girls  reach  a  con- 
siderable degree  of  proficiency  in  it  and  are 
able,  on  leaving,  to  obtain  good  posts  in  public 
or  private  laundries.  Here  again  the  Managers 
are  seeing  the  wisdom  of  allowing  their  girls  to 


INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING  141 

learn  the  theory  of  the  work,  but  even  then  it 
has  always  to  be  remembered  that  it  is  not 
really  healthy  work,  and  therefore  no  girl 
should  be  kept  at  it  for  many  hours  together. 
If  the  work  comes  from  outside,  the  laundry 
comes  under  factory  legislation  and  the  condi- 
tions are  inspected  by  the  factory  inspectors. 
For  the  big,  strong  girls  in  Reformatories  it  is 
generally  found  to  be  the  most  suitable  work. 

The  girls  make  all  their  own  clothes,  in- 
cluding the  outfit  they  are  given  when  they 
leave  school.  Although  the  best  work  is  in  the 
hands  of  a  few,  in  the  well-managed  schools 
each  girl  has  the  opportunity  of  acquiring  a 
knowledge  of  plain  needlework  and  dress- 
making, which  should  be  useful  to  her  all  her 
life. 

At  Nazareth  House,  where  the  industrial 
training  is  almost  ideal,  each  girl  learns  to 
dress,  undress,  and  bathe  a  large  doll  in  the 
most  approved  way,  and  sometimes  they  help 
the  Sisters  in  the  care  of  the  little  ones,  which 
are  a  very  happy  addition  to  the  school.  Much 
more  might  be  done  by  appealing  to  the  mother 
instinct  in  each  girl.  It  is  sometimes  pathetic 
to  see  the  amount  of  affection  that  the  elder 
girls  will  lavish  on  a  cat  or  a  dog,  or  even  a 
doll,  for  want  of  anything  better. 

There  is  one  branch  of  work  which  is  prac- 
tically non-existent,  and  that  is  "out-of-door" 


142  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

work  of  any  description  ;  even  in  country 
schools,  where  there  are  many  opportunities, 
often  no  attempt  is  made  to  vary  the  curriculum. 
The  reason  usually  given  is  lack  of  time,  the 
girls  having  as  much  work  as  they  can  possibly 
accomplish  ;  this  is  no  doubt  true  of  the  smaller 
schools,  but  elsewhere  it  is  partly  due  to  the 
fact  that  cleanliness  has  become  a  "  fetish." 
As  an  American  writer  says,  "  the  girls  are 
kept  everlastingly  scrubbing  on  the  much-over- 
worked floors  and  furniture,"  with  the  result 
that  there  is  no  time  for  anything  else.  In 
many  American  schools  horticulture  and  agricul- 
ture are  playing  an  important  part  in  the  girls' 
industrial  training  ;  in  every  case  the  Superin- 
tendents speak  enthusiastically  of  the  beneficial 
results,  both  moral  and  physical.  The  Super- 
intendent of  the  Iowa  Home,  in  her  Annual 
Report,  writes  :  "  Many  girls  are  employed  in 
summer  on  the  lawns,  with  the  flower  beds, 
in  gathering  vegetables,  and  in  garden  work 
generally ;  this  gives  a  light  and  very  healthful 
exercise,  besides  plenty  of  fresh  air  and  sun- 
shine, which  works  wonders  in  each  case  where 
the  physically  weak,  nervous,  and  debilitated 
girl  comes  to  us."  It  must  be  remembered 
that  many  of  the  girls  sent  to  the  schools  are 
suffering  from  hereditary  physical  or  mental 
weakness,  and  therefore  plenty  of  fresh  air  is 
essential   for  them.     The  beneficial  results  of 


"OUT  OF   DOOR"   WORK  148 

outdoor  work  have  already  been  seen  in  the 
case  of  the  epileptic,  the  feeble-minded,  and 
the  inebriate,  and  it  would  therefore  seem 
reasonable  to  include  this  healthy  occupation 
in  the  school  curriculum.  It  would  at  any  rate 
be  a  desirable  alternative  exercise  to  the  mono- 
tonous "crocodile  walk,"  This  has  already 
been  proved  to  be  the  case  in  a  few  schools 
where  the  girls  have  gardens  of  their  own, 
although  in  these  instances  the  gardens  are  of 
too  small  dimensions  to  permit  of  the  strenuous 
digging  which  is  so  peculiarly  health-giving. 

At  the  present  time  a  great  deal  is  being 
done  to  encourage  girl  emigrants,  and  it  stands 
to  reason  that  a  girl  will  have  a  much  better 
chance  in  the  colonies  if  she  has  some  experi- 
ence in  gardening  and  agriculture  in  addition  to 
her  knowledge  of  housework.  Should  she  stay 
in  England,  the  experience  of  her  outdoor  work 
will  in  no  way  unfit  her  for  ordinary  service, 
but  rather  will  have  been  the  means  of  buildinof 
up  a  healthy  mind  and  body.  If  established  on 
a  sound  working  basis  there  is  no  reason  why 
in  the  country  schools  the  garden  should  not 
become  as  much  a  business  concern  as  the 
laundry ;  it  could,  at  all  events,  help  to  make 
the  school  self-supporting.  It  is  possible  that 
the  opening  up  of  gardening  as  a  career  for 
women  will  further  the  development  of  this 
idea. 


144 


YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 


On  the  whole  the  industrial  training  given  in 
the  schools  is  sound,  but  the  actual  scope  of  the 
work  is  too  limited  and  not  sufficient  is  done 
to  widen  the  girls'  interest  in  other  directions. 
Too  seldom  have  they  the  opportunity  of 
realizing  the  great  principle  found  in  Dr. 
Thring's  famous  words,  "  Honour  the  work 
and  the  work  will  honour  you." 


E — Occupations  of  Girls  who  left  the 
Schools  in   1908,   1909,  and  1910 


Occupations. 

General  servants 

Casual  (including  charing) 

Factories  or  mills     . 

Housemaids    . 

Private  laundry-maids 

Kitchenmaids. 

Married  ... 

Nursemaids 

Assisting  parents  in  house 

work 
Public  laundry-maids 
Dressmakers    . 
Parlour-maids 
Shop  assistants 
Cooks 


No.  ai 
end  of  1911. 


1,049 

235 
232 

198 

138 

IIS 

95 
92 

86 

54 
51 
31 

27 
27 


Occupations. 

en 

No.  at 
d  of  1911 

Scholars . 

a                    , 

22 

Waitresses 

• 

23 

Dairymaids 

. 

II 

Clerks,  Typists 

.                    . 

6 

Others  in  regular 

employ- 

ment 

,         , 

6 

Teachers 

,                      a 

4 

Ladies'  maids  . 

• 

4 

Convicted    . 

28 

Dead  . 

• 

46 

Unknown    . 

. 

135 

Total 


•  2,715 


Domestic  Service 

i  It  will  be  seen  by  the  above  statistics  that 
the  majority  of  the  girls  go  to  service.  Of 
these  the  greatest  number  start  as  general 
servants.  Most  Managers  and  Superinten- 
dents consider  this   the  wisest  course  for  the 


DOMESTIC   SERVICE  145 

greater  number  of  the  girls  in  their  charge, 
particularly  as  there  is  always  a  large  demand 
for  this  class  of  domestic  servant.  Where  the 
situations  are  carefully  chosen  there  is  no  doubt 
that  this  is  wise,  for  an  efficient  girl  will  have 
many  opportunities  of  improving  herself ;  but 
with  oreneral  service  of  an  inferior  character 
there  is  always  a  possibility  of  the  girl  unfitting 
herself  for  a  better  class  of  work.  The  loneli- 
ness of  the  life  for  a  girl  coming  straight  from 
school  is  an  even  more  important  consideration. 
Everything  depends  upon  the  actual  situation  ; 
even  if  the  girl  is  one  of  several  servants,  there 
is  always  risk  of  her  being  imposed  upon  by 
those  that  are  older,  which  is  as  harmful  for 
her  as  is  the  solitary  life  of  a  "  general."  It  is 
in  such  matters  as  these  that  every  care  should 
be  taken  to  ensure  a  really  satisfactory  situa- 
tion. Much  might  be  done  in  persuading  the 
mistresses  to  take  more  than  an  official  interest 
in  the  girl's  welfare,  not  only  by  safeguarding 
her  from  the  many  temptations  which  assail  a 
domestic  servant,  but  at  the  same  time  by 
giving  her  as  many  opportunities  as  possible 
in  the  direction  of  healthy  recreation.  At  the 
present  day  the  domestic  servant  in  many 
households  is  regarded  very  much  as  a  machine. 
No  longer  are  mistress  and  maid  of  "  well-to- 
do  "  families  to  be  seen  working  together  side 
by  side  making  pastry  or  preserve,  and  rarely 

lO 


146  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

do  they  meet  together  for  "  family  prayers." 
The  servants  come  and  go  in  an  often  rapid 
succession  ;  the  demand  for  them  is  far  greater 
than  they  are  able  or  willing  to  supply,  indus- 
trial and  business  careers  having  an  increasing 
attraction  for  them.  There  is  frequent  com- 
plaining that  the  servants  have  changed,  and 
that  they  are  inferior  to  those  of  fifty  or  even 
twenty-five  years  ago  ;  but  it  is  not  only  the 
servants  who  have  changed — the  social  and 
economic  conditions  of  the  whole  country  have 
changed,  and  are  continuing  to  change. 

A  laundry-maid  in  a  private  family  may  have 
a  very  desirable  position,  but  here  again  every- 
thing depends  upon  the  actual  situation  ;  she 
may  be  left  almost  entirely  under  the  influence 
of  an  undesirable  superior,  or  on  the  other 
hand  she  may  have  the  same  supervision  as 
an  ordinary  household  servant.  Taken  as  a 
whole,  sending  girls  to  public  laundries  should 
not  be  encouraged,  for  the  life  is  rough  at 
the  best,  and  the  girls  are  beset  with  many 
temptations.  There  are  exceptions,  but  it  is 
to  be  hoped  that  with  the  increasing  use  of 
machinery  there  will  be  less  need  for  girls' 
work. 

The  question  of  emigration  is  increasingly 
considered  owing  to  the  great  shortage  of 
women  in  all  the  colonies.  During  1910  only 
56  of  the  980  girls  discharged  from  the  schools 


AFTER-CARE  147 

were  sent  abroad,  and  when  it  is  remembered 
how  far  Canada's  demand  for  women's  labour 
exceeds  the  supply,  this  is  a  small  number. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  colonies  afford 
special  opportunities  to  those  who  need  a  fresh 
start  in  an  invigorating  atmosphere. 

It  will  be  seen  that  comparatively  few  girls 
become  dressmakers  or  anything  that  requires 
more  intellectual  capacity  than  housework.  If 
the  educational  methods  were  improved  in 
some  directions  many  more  might  be  able  to 
earn  a  living  otherwise  than  by  manual  labour. 
The  fact  of  235  being  engaged  in  casual  work 
is  not  satisfactory  ;  there  will  always  be  some 
girls  who  are  inefficient  owing  to  mental  de- 
ficiency, but  these  are  usually  the  very  girls 
who  need  the  control  and  discipline  of  regular 
work,  even  though  it  be  of  the  simplest  de- 
scription. It  is  such  girls  that  give  most 
difficulty  to  the  school  authorities  ;  beyond 
ensuring  adequate  supervision  and  equipping 
them  as  well  as  their  limited  capacities  will 
admit,  there  is  little  that  can  be  done  to  ensure 
their  success  in  industrial  careers. 

F — Supervision  and  After-care 

The  period  of  supervision  after  the  girls 
leave  school  is  the  same  as  has  been  already 
described  in  the  case  of  the  boys.     When  the 


148  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

girls  have  pleasant  associations  with  their  school 
life,    the    actual    period    of   supervision    is    far 
longer  than   that   which   is    legally   prescribed, 
but,    on    the    other   hand,   there   are   instances 
where  there  is  no  mutual  affection  between  the 
girl  and  her  old  school.      The  great   majority 
of   schools    have    no    separate    accommodation 
for   their    old    girls,    but   they  depend  upon   a 
few    spare    beds    or  a   sick-room    for   them   to 
use  during  their  holidays  and  in  between  their 
situations.     The  success  of  such  a  scheme  as 
this    depends    upon    the    character  of   the    old 
girl  ;  if  this  is  not  satisfactory  her  influence  may 
be  far-reaching  and  have  a  very  serious  effect 
amongst    the   younger    girls.      On    the    other 
hand,  if  her  character  is  exemplary,  her  example 
may  be  a  means  of  stimulating   the  girls  still 
in   the   school  to  make    fresh  efforts    to  equip 
themselves  for  their  career,  in  order  that  they 
may  achieve  some  of  the  success,  and  secure 
some    of    the    admiration,    that    their    former 
companion  now  enjoys. 

Homes  in  connection  with  Certified  Schools 

It  is  obvious  that  the  wisest  means  of  pro- 
viding for  the  old  girls  is  the  institution  of  a 
small  home  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  school, 
or  even  adjacent  to  it,  where  they  can  spend 
their  holidays  and  where  those  that  are  working 


AUXILIARY   HOMES  149 

in  the  same  town  may  spend  their  free  time. 
Some  such  scheme  as  this  exists  in  a  few 
schools — notably,  Princess  Mary  Village  Homes, 
Nazareth  House,  and  Coventry  Industrial 
School  ;  many  others  would  make  a  similar 
provision  were  it  not  for  the  lack  of  the 
necessary  funds.  Such  homes  as  these  may 
have  the  double  purpose  of  providing  accom- 
modation for  old  girls  and  affording  an  excellent 
means  of  demonstrating  to  the  girls  still  in 
the  school  the  requirements  of  an  ordinary 
household.  Many  practical  lessons  in  house- 
wifery might  be  given  in  such  a  place  if  it 
were  furnished,  as  far  as  possible,  similarly 
to  the  homes  where  the  girls  will  eventually 
work ;  at  the  same  time  it  may  become  an 
ideal  for  the  girls  when  the  time  comes  for 
them  to  marry  and  have  homes  of  their  own. 

The  Work  of  the  M.A.B.  Y.S. 

Much  more  might  be  done  in  securing  the 
interest  of  some  "outsider"  for  the  girls  as 
they  leave  school,  and  this  is  especially  impor- 
tant for  those  who  go  far  away.  If  their  work 
happens  to  be  in  a  town  there  is  usually  some 
Club  or  Association  for  working-girls  which 
will  be  willing  to  befriend  the  new-comer  if 
her  needs  are  laid  before  them.  In  191 1  the 
Metropolitan  Association  for  Befriending  Young 


150  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

Servants  had  338  girls  under  their  care  from 
different  schools.  Failing  some  such  associa- 
tion as  this,  it  is  worth  while  for  the  Managers 
to  make  great  efforts  to  find  some  one  who 
will  befriend  the  girl  and  make  provision  for 
her  recreation  and  spiritual  needs. 

Any  system  of  correspondence  between  the 
school  and  its  old  girls  is  much  to  be  com- 
mended, and  here  again  is  an  opportunity  for 
the  Managers,  who  might  take  their  share  in 
the  copious  letter-writing  which  is  necessary 
if  the  aim  of  after-care  is  to  be  achieved.  Each 
Manager  might  be  responsible  for  a  certain 
number  of  girls,  but  failing  this  she  could 
find  some  friend  who  would  take  her  place, 
introducing  the  girl  to  her  before  she  leaves 
school.  A  circular  letter  would  be  a  useful 
means  of  keeping  in  touch  with  the  old  girls, 
by  letting  them  know  the  whereabouts  of  their 
former  companions,  and  by  giving  them  all 
the  news  of  their  old  school.  The  thought 
that  their  old  friends  would  hear  of  their 
disgrace  would  in  some  cases  be  a  way  of 
checking  delinquent  tendencies. 

The  greater  number  of  schools  rely  very 
largely  upon  the  Annual  Reunion,  where  the 
old  girls  are  entertained  by  the  present  members 
of  the  school,  and  are  able  to  renew  their 
acquaintance  with  their  former  friends  on  the 
staff.    In  some  places  this  day  is  looked  forward 


AFTER-CARE  151 

to  from  one  year  to  another,  and  old  girls 
may  be  seen  proudly  showing  their  own 
children  some  of  the  relics  of  their  school- 
days. Unfortunately,  comparatively  few  girls 
are  near  enough  to  the  school  to  attend  this 
gathering,  and  therefore  other  means  of  keeping 
in  touch  with  them  are  very  necessary.  It 
needs  the  continuous  consideration  of  Superin- 
tendent and  Managers  if  the  work  of  after-care 
is  to  be  carried  out  satisfactorily. 


CHAPTER    IX 

THE  WORK  OF  DAY   INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOLS,  SHORT- 
TERM  INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOLS,  AND  SPECIAL 
INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOLS 

A — Day  Industrial  Schools. 

1.  Definition  and  History  of  the  Schools. 

2.  Managennent. 

3.  Education  and  Industrial  Training. 

4.  Physical  Care  of  the  Children. 

5.  The  Staff. 

6.  The  Future  of  the  Schools. 
B — Short-term  Industrial  Schools. 
C — Special  Industrial  Schools. 

A — Day  Industrial  Schools 
I.  Definition  and  History  of  the  Schools 

IN  Section  77  of  the  Children  Act  it  enacts 
that  a  Day  Industrial  School  is  one  "  in 
which  industrial  training,  elementary  education, 
and  one  or  more  meals  a  day,  but  no  lodging, 
are  provided," 

The  Act  of  1866,  which  consolidated  and 
amended  previous  Acts  concerning  Certified 
Schools,  contained  an  amendment  proposed  by 
Lord  Sandown,  authorizing  School   Boards  to 

establish   Day   Industrial   Schools,   "  for  those 

152 


DAY   INDUSTRIAL   SCHOOLS  153 

children  whose  education  is  neglected  by  their 
parents,  or  who  are  found  wandering  and  in 
bad  company." 

At  the  close  of  191 1  there  were  twenty  such 
schools  under  inspection,  of  which  twelve  were 
in  England  and  eight  in  Scotland.  The 
number  of  children  attendinsf  the  schools  on 
December  31,  191 1,  were,  boys  1,936,  girls  653. 

2.  Ma7iage7nent 

The  schools  in  England  are  entirely  managed 
by  the  Local  Education  Authorities.  In 
Glasgow,  where  there  are  seven  of  the  Scotch 
schools,  all  but  two  of  them  are  managed  by 
the  Juvenile  Delinquency  Board,  and  they  seem 
to  be  doing  excellent  work.  In  England  it  is 
clear  that  the  schools  are  not  making  much 
headway,  for  there  is  usually  a  bare  sufficiency 
of  children  to  warrant  the  schools  being 
kept  open. 

A  local  education  authority  has  the  same 
powers  in  relation  to  one  of  these  schools  as 
it  has  to  a  Certified  Industrial  School,  for 
it  is  responsible  for  the  efficiency  of  the 
education  and  maintenance  of  the  children. 
The  average  cost  per  head  during  191 1  was 
£\2,  los.  ;  the  parents  or  guardians  of  the  child 
have  to  contribute  towards  its  support  according 
to   their   ability,    but    their    contributions    are 


154  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

very    small    in    comparison    with    the    cost    of 
maintenance. 

The  children  attending  Day  Industrial 
Schools  are  mainly  of  the  same  class  as  those 
in  other  Industrial  Schools  ;  they  are  usually  of 
the  poorest,  but,  because  there  is  less  risk  of 
moral  contamination,  it  is  considered  by  the 
magistrates  who  hear  the  case  that  sufficient 
provision  is  made  for  the  child's  welfare  if  it 
becomes  a  day-boarder.  There  are  always  a 
certain  number  of  children  who  have  played 
truant  or  are  unmanageable  at  home,  and  it  is 
thought  that  a  few  months'  detention  at  a  Day 
Industrial  School  will  have  the  effect  of  setting 
them  in  the  right  way  again.  A  number  of 
the  children  are  committed  to  the  schools 
because  of  the  economic  necessity  of  the  home. 
The  mother  has  usually  to  supplement  the 
family  income  with  her  own  earnings,  and  is 
therefore  unable  to  give  the  children  the 
necessary  supervision. 


'> 


Education  and  Industrial  Training 


The  education  of  the  schools  is  almost 
identical  with  that  of  the  Elementary  Schools, 
with  the  exception  that  more  attention  is  given 
to  industrial  training,  and  this  is  made  possible 
owing  to  the  longer  hours  the  children  are  in 
school,  usually  from  7.30  a.m.  to  6  p.m.     The 


DAY    INDUSTRIAL    SCHOOLS  155 

girls  help  in  the  housework  and  preparation  of 
the  meals,  and  in  the  necessary  laundry-  and 
needlework  ;  there  are  classes  in  housewifery, 
so  that  they  may  be  able  to  acquire  some  idea 
of  the  theory  of  domestic  work  before  leaving 
school.  The  boys  are  taught  elementary 
carpentry,  and  at  some  schools  they  do  a  certain 
amount  of  boot-making  and  mending. 

4.  Physical  Care  of  the  Children 

The  physical  needs  of  the  children  are  a 
matter  for  important  consideration  ;  the  majority 
of  them,  on  entering  the  school,  are  suffering 
from  the  effects  of  serious  malnutrition  and 
neglect.  They  have  three  good  meals  a  day, 
and  the  diet  is  approved  by  the  Government 
Inspector  and  the  school  Medical  Officer,  who 
frequently  examine]  the  children.  Each  child 
is  bathed  at  least  once  a  week,  and  everything 
possible  is  done  to  inculcate  habits  of  cleanli- 
ness ;  but  because  the  children  return  to  their 
homes  each  night,  many  of  which  are  anything 
but  clean,  the  staff  is  faced  with  serious 
difficulties.  No  uniform  is  worn  in  the  school 
other  than  overalls ;  but  it  is  often  found 
necessary  to  put  all  the  children's  clothing  into 
the  disinfecting  cupboard,  this  necessitating  the 
keeping  of  a  few  extra  clothes  at  the  school. 
TThe  children's  clothes  are  often  so  ragged  and 


156  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

so  insufficient  that  they  have  to  be  supplemented 
from  the  school  store.  There  is  the  usual 
amount  of  drilling  and  recreation,  and  every- 
thing is  done  to  develop  the  poor  physique  of 
the  children.  Bristol  Day  Industrial  School 
has  a  swimming  bath,  which  is  a  great  acquisi- 
tion. Wherever  possible  the  whole  school  is 
taken  away  for  a  few  weeks'  country  holiday, 
and  this  has  always  a  very  noticeable  effect  on 
the  children's  general  condition. 

5.   The  Staff 

The  staff  varies  little  from  that  of  an 
Elementary  School,  but  their  work  is  un- 
doubtedly more  arduous  ;  the  hours  are  longer, 
the  children  are  with  them  the  whole  of  the 
day,  and  they  have  little  opportunity  for  rest 
and  recreation.  They  must  have  an  immense 
fund  of  patience  and  sympathy,  for  the  children 
are  usually  of  the  poorest,  and  it  often  seems 
that  what  is  learnt  during  school  hours  is  for- 
gotten during  the  night  at  home.  Many  of  the 
teachers  give  themselves  to  the  work  with  un- 
flagging zeal  and  wonderful  devotion  ;  such 
work  means  real  self-sacrifice,  and  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  if  the  teachers  did  not  realize 
this  need,  the  schools  would  not  be  as  efficient 
as  they  are  at  present. 


DAY    INDUSTRIAL    SCHOOLS  157 

6.    The  Fului^e  of  the  Schools 

The  main  shortcoming  of  the  Day  Industrial 
Schools  has  been  an  inability  to  secure  proper 
control  and  supervision  of  the  children  after 
they  leave,  for  there  are  no  Government 
regulations  authorizing  supervision  as  in  other 
Certified  Schools.  It  is  often  known  to  the 
teachers  that  a  child  comes  from  a  bad  home, 
and  yet  they  have  no  power  to  guard  it  from 
the  moral  contamination.  In  one  school,  if  the 
head  mistress  knows  that  a  girl  comes  from 
such  a  home,  she  endeavours  to  secure  her 
committal  to  an  Industrial  School  before  she  is 
14 ;  this  mistress  has  known  of  the  school 
attendance  officers  watching  a  suspected  house 
for  a  whole  night  in  order  to  prove  that  a  girl 
runs  the  risk  of  moral  contamination  and  ought 
to  be  sent  to  an  Industrial  School. 

The  condition  of  Day  Industrial  Schools  at 
present  is  not  satisfactory.  The  schools  are 
sometimes  ignored  by  the  Local  Education 
Authority,  and  the  general  public,  as  a  rule, 
is  hardly  aware  of  their  existence.  The  fact  of 
their  great  success  in  Glasgow,  where  there  is 
an  immense  population  of  the  poorest  kind, 
shows  that  they  may  do  much  useful  work  if 
they  are  rightly  managed.  Such  schools  are 
necessary  for  the  children  of  people  who  are 
known  to  be  on  the  borderland  of  starvation. 


158  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

It  also  may  be  advisable  in  the  future  to  use 
the  schools  as  a  lever  to  rouse  apathetic  parents 
to  a  sense  of  their  responsibilities,  warning 
them  that  unless  they  respond,  as  far  as  they 
are  able,  to  the  efforts  the  State  is  making  on 
their  children's  behalf,  they  will  have  to  submit 
to  their  being  sent  away.  As  the  schools  are 
constituted  at  present,  their  work  is  often 
vitiated  because  they  have  no  power  to  secure 
the  removal  of  a  child  from  its  home  surround- 
ings if  they  are  undesirable,  and  there  are  in 
addition  no  Government  regulations  to  authorize 
satisfactory  supervision  and  after-care. 

B — Short-term  Industrial  Schools  for 

Boys 

Short-term  Industrial  Schools  are  an  outcome 
of  the  original  Truant  Schools,  which  were 
founded  in  1878  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  in 
the  enforcement  of  certain  provisions  of  the 
Education  Acts.  At  present  there  are  ten 
schools,  with  a  total  of  853  inmates.  The 
majority  of  the  cases  are  committed  under 
Section  85  of  the  Children  Act,  and  they 
show  a  distinct  tendency  to  increase  ;  in  most 
instances  the  homes'  surroundings  are  suffi- 
ciently unsatisfactory  to  make  the  case  eligible 
for  an  Industrial  School. 

The    schools    are   entirely  under    the    local 


SHORT-TERM   INDUSTRIAL   SCHOOLS  159 

Education  Authority,  and  the  management  is 
similar  to  that  of  other  Certified  Schools.  A 
certain  degree  of  efficiency  has  to  be  reached 
in  order  to  secure  the  Treasury  grants  ;  the 
average  cost  per  head  for  191 1  was  ^27  2s. 

The  distinction  between  Short-term  and 
other  Industrial  Schools  is  seen  in  the  actual 
name.  The  former  were  started  because  it 
was  felt  that  a  few  months'  committal  was  all 
that  was  necessary  for  a  certain  class  of  delin- 
quent, and  it  was  naturally  not  practicable  for 
them  to  go  to  a  school  where  the  average 
length  of  detention  was  three  or  four  years. 
During  191 1  the  average  length  of  detention 
was  between  twenty  and  twenty-one  weeks. 
Such  a  short  detention  would  involve  a  constant 
change  of  inmates,  which  would  disorganize  the 
routine  and  discipline  irretrievably. 

The  industrial  training  is  necessarily  not  very 
complete  ;  six  or  seven  months  is  not  sufficient 
time  to  give  the  boys  much  else  than  a  good 
general  knowledge  of  handling  tools.  The 
education  is  otherwise  merely  a  continuation 
of  their  previous  work,  enabling  them  to  return 
to  an  Elementary  School,  provided  that  they 
are  still  under  14.  The  short  time  for  which 
the  boys  are  detained  renders  the  moral 
and  physical  training  equally  difficult  ;  the 
masters  can  do  little  else  but  trust  that  their 
influence  may  have   some  effect   on  the  boys' 


160  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

character,  and  that  the  generous  diet  will  tell 
favourably  on  their  physique.  As  a  rule  the 
members  of  the  staff  do  not  stay  long  ;  their 
work  is  often  discouraging,  and  demands  an 
unwavering  optimism. 

As  in  Day  Industrial  Schools,  the  authorities 
have  no  legal  control  of  the  boys  after  they 
leave,  and  are  faced  with  the  same  difficulties 
of  after-care.  The  results  of  the  1,048  boys 
who  left  the  schools  during  1908,  1909,  and 
1 9 10  are   not  really  satisfactory. 

578,  or  55  per  cent.,  were  in  regular  employ- 
ment. 

124,  or  [2  per  cent.,  were  in  casual  employ- 
ment. 

155,  or  15  per  cent.,  had  been  convicted. 

191,  or  18  per  cent.,  were  unknown.  ^ 

When  these  results  are  compared  with  those 
of  other  Certified  Schools,  it  will  be  seen  that 
they  are  inferior  in  every  way.  The  schools 
were  doubtless  necessary  in  the  early  days  of 
compulsory  education  as  a  means  of  enforcing 
the  Act,  but  it  is  questionable  whether  they 
can  at  present  justify  their  existence  ;  they 
eventually  may  be  converted  into  ordinary 
Industrial  Schools,  as  has  already  happened  in 
two  cases. 

'  Fifty-fourth  Report  (1914)  of  the  Inspector  on  Reformatory 
and  Industrial  Schools. 


CERTIFIED   SCHOOLS  161 

C — Special  Industrial  Schools 

There  are  at  present  eight  Certified  Schools 
for  children  who  are  physically  or  mentally 
defective,  six  of  which  are  for  the  feeble-minded 
and  epileptic,  one  for  the  blind,  and  one  for 
the  deaf.  The  schools  have  all  been  certified 
during  the  last  four  or  five  years,  in  order  that 
they  may  be  eligible  for  Treasury  grants,  and 
be  open  to  receive  children  committed  under 
the  Children  Act.  At  present  such  cases  are 
few;  the  majority  of  the  children  in  the  schools 
are  either  sent  by  the  Guardians  or  are  pro- 
vided for  voluntarily.  When  there  is  more 
adequate  classification,  many  children  who  are 
now  sent  to  Industrial  Schools  will  be  sent  to 
Special  Schools,  for  such  children  as  these  not 
only  seriously  handicap  the  work  of  an  ordinary 
school,  but  are  apt  to  suffer  from  the  want  of 
the  special  education  they  would  receive  in 
schools  organized  for  those  of  their  type. 

The  schools  have  been  started  too  recently 
to  form  any  estimate  of  their  success,  but  "in 
the  case  of  the  mentally  deficient  over  i6, 
there  is  already  a  crying  need  for  further 
Government  provision.  Unless  the  institu- 
tion is  built  on  the  cottage  system,  it  is 
difficult  to  secure  the  necessary  age  classifi- 
cation, and  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  if  the 
boys  and  girls  are  not  definitely  detained,  the 
II 


162  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

State  eventually  has  to  face  an  increased 
expenditure  in  the  maintenance  of  their  de- 
scendants. It  can  be  reasonably  hoped  that 
within  a  short  time  Government  provision  will 
be  made  for  the  permanent  control  of  the 
mentally  defective. 


CHAPTER  X 


RESULTS  OF  THE  TRAINING  GIVEN    IN    CERTIFIED 

SCHOOLS 

A — Statistics. 

B — Inadequate  Means  of  Determining  Results. 

C — The  Low  Standard  of  Success. 

D— The  State's  Responsibility. 

E — The  Future  of  the  Schools, 

A — Statistics 

STATISTICS  showing  the  subsequent 
character  of  the  boys  and  girls  who  left 
Industrial  and  Reformatory  Schools  during  the 
years  1908,  1909,  and  19 10  are  as  follows  :  ^ 


BOYS 

In 

DUSTRIAL 

Schools. 

Reformatory  Schools 

Protestant. 

Roman 
Catholic. 

Protestant 

Roman 
•     Catholic. 

Since  dead  . 

67 

22 

32 

9 

Regular  employment 

5,226 

1,448 

2,535 

619 

Irregular           ,, 

189 

68 

112 

22 

Convicted   . 

248 

69 

281 

So 

Unknown    . 

.    282 

49 

82 

33 

Imbecile 

4 

2 

— 

— 

Physically  unfit   . 

40 

12 

— 

— 

6,056 

1,670 

3,042 

763 

To 

tal     .     7,726 

Total     .     3, 

805 

*  Fifty-fourth  Report  (191 1)  of  the  Inspector  on  Reformatory 
and  Industrial  Schools. 

163 


164 


YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

GIRLS 

Industrial  Schools.    Reformatory  Schools. 


Protestant 

Roman 
Catholic. 

Protestant 

Roman 
■      Catholic. 

Since  dead  ...        19 

13 

5 

2 

Regular  employment    .  1,244 

690 

250 

87 

Irregular           ,,            .       122 

36 

27 

2 

Convicted  of  crime       .         lO 

3 

15 

— 

Unknown    ...        65 

24 

40 

6 

Imbecile      ...          4 

I 

2 

— 

Physically  unfit    .         .        26 

8 

13 

I 

1,490 

775 

352 

98 

Total     . 

2,265 
BOYS 

Total;    . 

450 

i~r'  ■'  .  '■ 

Industrial 

Reformatory 

Schools. 

Schools. 

Total  percentage : 

In  regular  employment  . 

•    87 

84 

In  casual             ,, 

•       4 

3 

Convicted  or  reconvicted 

•       4 

10 

Unknown 

•      4 
GIRLS 

3 

In  regular  employment  . 

•     87 

77 

In  casual             ,, 

■      8-5 

10 

Convicted  or  reconvicted 

•      o-s 

3 

Unknown 

•      4 

10 

B — Inadequate  Means  of  Determining 

Results 

It  is  extremely  difficult  to  form  an  adequate 
estimate  of  the  results  of  the  training  given  in 
Certified  Schools,  because  it  is  impossible  to 
make  accurate  statistics  of  such  things  as 
character  and    the   degree    of    industrial    effi- 


THE  LOW  STANDARD  OF  SUCCESS     165 

ciency.  The  elasticity  of  such  terms  as 
"satisfactory"  and  "  doing  well"  is  an  insuper- 
able difficulty.  For  example,  an  old  pupil  may 
be  in  regular  work,  but  it  does  not  follow  that 
the  training  has  been  entirely  successful. 
Moreover,  the  employer's  standard  of  what  is 
satisfactory  as  regards  efficiency  and  character 
may  be  a  very  different  one  from  the  Superin- 
tendent's, whose  standard  necessarily  varies  to 
a  certain  extent  with  each  individual  :  it  is 
satisfactory  for  some  of  the  dullards  not  to  be 
a  charge  on  the  rates,  whereas  much  more 
would  be  required  of  those  that  are  really 
capable.  Thus  there  are  no  more  adequate 
grounds  for  supposing  that  the  results  are 
satisfactory  because  the  ex-inmates  are  reported 
to  be  "  doing  well  "  than  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  all  those  reported  as  "  unknown  " 
are  absolute  failures. 

C — The  Low  Standard  of  Success 

In  addition  to  the  unavoidable  inaccuracy  of 
the  statistics,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
standard  of  success  has  been  put  on  a  very  low 
level  by  the  school  authorities.  The  principal 
test  has  depended  upon  the  number  of  recon- 
victions ;  but  besides  the  fact  that  arrest  is  a 
matter  of  chance,  the  results  of  training  may 
have    been    altogether    unsatisfactory,   and  yet 


166  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

there  is  not  sufficient  cause  for  reconviction. 
It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  a 
reconviction  need  not  necessarily  be  for  a 
serious  offence ;  it  may  only  be  for  some 
offence  against  the  by-laws,  imprisonment  being 
the  only  alternative  to  a  fine  which  a  person  in 
better  circumstances  would  be  able  to  pay. 

In  considering  the  results  of  the  schools  as 
seen  by  the  above  statistics,  the  percentage  of 
reconvictions  in  the  case  of  Reformatories  for 
boys  is  lo  per  cent.,  and  for  girls  3  per  cent.  ; 
in  the  case  of  Industrial  Schools  the  percentage 
is  somewhat  lower,  being  4  per  cent,  for  boys, 
and  o"5  per  cent,  for  girls.  This  fact  is  largely 
owing  to  the  earlier  age  of  commitment  and  the 
longer  period  of  detention  ;  the  older  boys  and 
girls  in  Reformatories  have  had  more  time  to 
become  habituated  to  crime,  and  they  have 
been  more  permanently  influenced  by  their 
environment.  If  it  is  possible  to  arrest  a  delin- 
quent at  a  comparatively  early  age,  there  is 
every  chance  of  checking  criminal  tendencies 
and  effacing  effects  of  the  evil  influences  of 
early  childhood.  When  it  is  remembered  that 
only  a  small  proportion  of  the  children  in 
Industrial  Schools  have  been  committed  for 
an  indictable  offence,  surely  it  is  obvious  that 
they  are  an  easier  class  with  which  to  deal. 

Enough  has  been  said  to  show  the  inadequacy 
of  taking  the   number    of  re-convictions  as    a 


RE-CONVICTIONS  167 

means  of  judging  the  results  of  the  training 
given  in  the  schools.  Detailed  classification 
will  be  needed  before  it  is  possible  to  judge  of 
the  seriousness  of  a  re-conviction.  From  time 
to  time  the  schools  have  much  hostile  criticism 
from  persons  writing  to  the  press  pointing  out 
the  number  of  ex-inmates  who  have  been 
brought  before  the  magistrates.  Their  figures, 
even  if  they  are  not  hopelessly  inaccurate,  are 
apt  to  be  very  misleading.  For  instance,  in 
the  year  191 1  the  number  of  men  and  women 
in  prison  who  had  received  part  of  their  early 
training  in  Certified  Schools  was  944  (913 
males  and  21  females)  ;  but — and  this  is  a 
qualification  which  critics  sometimes  forget  to 
add — the  age  of  these  persons  varies  from 
16  or  17  years  of  age  to  perhaps  70  years  of 
age.  Many  of  them,  doubtless,  had  not  had 
the  advantage  of  the  improved  method  of 
training  given  in  the  modern  Certified  Schools. 
Of  these  944  convicted  persons,  210,  or  22  per 
cent.,  had  left  the  schools  during  the  three 
immediately  preceding  years.  The  remedy  will 
not  lie  in  the  direction  of  making  the  schools 
more  prison-like,  but  rather  in  a  contrary  direc- 
tion. At  the  same  time,  there  will  always  be 
a  small  percentage  of  failures  until  the  State 
has  seen  the  wisdom  of  making  some  per- 
manent provision  for  those  who  are  morally  and 
mentally  deficient. 


168  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

The  results  of  the  schools,  even  when  they 
are  considered  in  the  light  of  the  above  qualifi- 
cations, show  that  there  is  much  room  for 
improvement.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  often 
the  welfare  of  the  majority  of  ex-pupils  is  dis- 
regarded in  the  consideration  of  the  remarkable 
success  of  the  minority.  The  Managers  and 
Staff  of  Boys'  Schools  receive  letters  describing 
positions  of  great  trust  held  by  their  old  boys 
at  home  or  abroad  ;  or  perhaps  they  read  a 
stirring  account  of  regimental  life  where  a  former 
member  of  their  school  seems  fast  on  the  way 
to  become  a  commissioned  officer.  In  Girls' 
Schools  the  same  thing  happens  ;  they  are  all 
so  proud  of  their  old  girls  who  are  excelling  in 
domestic  service,  or  who  have  married  and 
are  bringing  up  their  family  in  an  exemplary 
fashion.  It  is  natural  that  the  school  authori- 
ties should  make  much  of  their  success — they 
certainly  need  the  encouragement  which  is 
derived  in  so  doing  ;  but  they  must  not  forget 
the  majority  who  are  only  fairly  satisfactory. 
The  public  hear  little  about  them  because 
their  letters  are  not  printed  in  the  Report  and 
their  photographs  are  not  placed  in  a  prominent 
position  in  the  school.  The  standard  of  what 
determines  success  should  be  rising  continually 
if  tlie  results  of  the  schools  are  to  be  satisfac- 
tory. In  the  past,  the  authorities  have  been 
apt  to  rest  content  if  they  can  say  that  anything 


THE   STATE'S   RESPONSIBILITY       169 

from  85  to  95  per  cent,  of  their  former  pupils 
are  "  doing  well."  Such  a  remarkably  high 
percentage  must  mean  that  in  some  cases  the 
standard  is  very  low.  The  authorities  and  the 
general  public  have  never  to  lose  sight  of 
the  fact  that  the  schools  are  not  intended  for 
brilliant  boys  and  girls,  who  would  be  most 
likely  to  excel  wherever  they  were,  even  though 
they  may  have  infringed  the  law  by  some 
youthful  offence  ;  the  schools  are  intended 
rather  for  the  great  army  who,  probably 
through  no  fault  of  their  own,  may  be  classed 
as  "  Nature's  dullards,"  whether  it  be  morally 
or  intellectually. 

D — The  State's  Responsibility 

Although  the  results  show  great  room  for 
improvement,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the 
schools  are  often  seriously  handicapped  by  their 
unstable  financial  condition  and  their  difficulty 
in  ensuring  satisfactory  after-care.  It  is  in 
such  matters  as  these  that  it  may  be  necessary 
for  the  State  to  come  to  their  assistance.  Many 
schools  are  so  poor  that  they  can  do  little  but 
feed  and  clothe  their  large  household  on  the 
most  economical  lines  and  keep  the  buildings 
in  a  clean  condition.  They  have  not  the  means 
to  pay  adequate  salaries  to  the  members  of  the 
staff,  and  they  are  also  unable  to  undertake  any 


170  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

structural  alterations  in  the  buildings,  even  if 
they  are  very  necessary.  In  addition,  they  are 
unable  to  provide  anything  which  may  make 
for  the  greater  health  and  happiness  of  their 
boys  and  girls,  whether  it  be  a  summer  holiday 
or  a  suitable  playground.  Such  schools  as 
these  are,  as  a  rule,  doing  their  best,  but 
obviously  they  have  great  need  of  further 
assistance. 

The  question  of  after-care  is  equally  per- 
plexing. Many  failures  can  be  accounted  for 
by  the  absence  of  any  other  alternative  than 
that  of  allowing  the  boys  and  girls  to  return  to 
their  original  environment  as  soon  as  they  are 
free  of  the  school's  control.  It  is  generally 
admitted  that  the  most  critical  and  determining 
years  of  a  young  person's  life  are  i6  to  21, 
and  therefore  if  during  that  time  they  come 
into  an  evil  environment,  they  are  more  likely 
to  be  seriously  influenced  than  would  be  the  case 
if  they  had  reached  a  maturer  age.  It  is  an 
almost  universal  continental  custom  for  all 
children  in  Government  schools  to  be  "  Wards 
of  the  State"  until  they  are  21  ;  this  means 
that  wherever  necessary  the  State  can  prevent 
a  boy  or  girl  returning  to  their  home  till  they 
reach  that  age.  In  many  cases  a  young  person 
of  2 1  would  not  tolerate  the  conditions  that  they 
might  tolerate  if  they  were  1 6  or  1 7.  It  would  be 
wise  for  England  to  follow  the  example  of  other 


THE   STATERS   RESPONSIBILITY        171 

countries  in  this  respect.  It  may  be  necessary, 
in  addition  to  this,  for  the  State  to  establish 
some  form  of  Labour  Colonies,  where  the  less- 
satisfactory  boys  and  girls  can  be  sent  when 
they  leave  school,  and  thus  secure  them  further 
supervision  and  prolonged  training.  Such  a 
community  would  endeavour  to  create  a  sense 
of  responsibility  and  self-reliance  ;  there  need 
be  nothing  savouring  of  an  institution  in  its 
methods.  It  would  still  be  necessary  to  provide 
some  permanent  control  for  those  who  are 
decidedly  deficient.  The  question  of  expense 
is  important,  but,  as  has  been  said,^  "When  it 
is  remembered  that  ^loo  is  said  to  be  a  fair 
average  for  the  cost  of  a  child's  training  in  a 
Certified  School,  it  is  an  uneconomical  policy 
to  grudge  the  additional  expenditure  which 
would  increase  the  security  of  the  original 
investment." 

There  is  always  a  fear  in  the  mind  of  the 
general  public  that  the  State,  in  its  efforts  to 
protect  the  children,  will  undermine  parental 
responsibility.  In  the  case  of  juvenile  delin- 
quents it  is  generally  clear  that  the  parents 
have  not  risen  to  their  responsibilities,  and 
when  this  is  the  case  it  is  time  for  the  State 
to  protect  what  are  known  to  be  its  most 
precious  possessions,  namely,  its  future  citizens. 
It  may  be  that  sometimes  the  necessity  of  pro- 

»  "  The  Making  of  the  Criminal,"  C.  B.  Russell. 


172  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

viding  for  their  child  will  rouse  the  parents 
from  a  condition  of  apathy  ;  but  are  not  the 
risks  incurred  by  leaving  a  child  in  an  unsatis- 
factory environment  too  great  to  justify  such 
an  experiment  ?  When  it  is  remembered  that 
the  State  is  mainly  responsible  for  some  of  the 
direct  causes  of  crime,  such  as  bad  housing  and 
sweated  labour,  it  cannot  refuse  to  bear  the 
burden  of  its  own  shortcominofs, 

E — The  Future  of  the  Schools 

One  of  the  most  striking  features  of  Certified 
Schools  is  the  extraordinary  variety  of  their 
methods.  There  are  still  a  few  which  are  not 
unlike  prisons,  and  there  are  many  which  are 
merely  institutions  ;  there  are  some,  however, 
which  have  the  best  traditions  of  a  public 
school,  and  others  which  closely  approximate 
to  the  ideal  of  home  life,  in  so  far  as  it  is 
possible  with  families  of  one  sex  of  forty  or 
fifty  members.  It  is  right  that  each  school 
should  be  given  scope  to  develop  its  indi- 
viduality, but  in  the  future  it  may  be  wise  to 
indicate  guiding  principles,  in  order  that  all 
may  reach  a  certain  standard  of  success. 

The  necessity  of  dispelling  the  last  remnants 
of  prison-like  discipline  is  only  too  obvious, 
and  there  need  be  no  difficulty  in  completing 
this  work.       But   it   is  more  difficult  to  over- 


THE   FUTURE   OF   THE   SCHOOLS      173 

come  an  institutional  atmosphere  whilst  the 
schools  are  so  large.  When  there  are  as  many 
as  one  or  two  hundred  children  living  under 
the  same  roof  it  is  almost  impossible  to  secure 
the  necessary  amount  of  individual  considera- 
tion, and  to  give  sufficient  scope  for  the  develop- 
ment of  individuality.  Even  in  the  smaller 
schools  where  there  are  forty  to  fifty  children 
it  is  quite  possible  to  find  a  sadly  uniform 
type  of  child.  The  large  schools  are  usually 
more  successful  from  a  financial  point  of  view, 
and  therefore,  if  in  the  future  the  schools  are 
smaller,  they  may  need  increased  assistance 
from  the  State.  A  Cottage  System,  similar 
to  that  of  Hungary,  where  from  twenty  to 
thirty  children  live  with  foster  parents,  yet 
all  under  the  direct  control  and  supervision 
of  an  experienced  Superintendent,  may  be 
the  solution  of  the  difficulty.  Such  a  scheme 
easily  admits  of  the  necessary  classification  as 
regards  the  age  and  offence  of  the  delinquents  ; 
as  the  schools  are  organized  at  present  such 
classification  is  impossible.  In  Reformatories 
young  delinquents  of  12  and  13  are  in  close 
contact  with  those  of  17  and  18,  and  in  the 
Industrial  Schools  those  of  14  and  15  are 
living  side  by  side  with  those  of  7  and  8. 
Not  only  is  there  risk  of  the  younger  ones 
suffering  from  wrong  influences,  but  it  is  not 
fair  to  hamper  those  who  are  older  with  the 


174  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

rules  and  regulations  which  may  be  necessary 
for  the  younger  members  of  the  school.  Such 
a  system  is  especially  unfair  to  the  older  boys, 
who  need  to  be  encouraged  in  manly  inde- 
pendence and  self-reliance  ;  if  they  are  treated 
as  men  there  is  more  chance  of  their  developing 
manly  qualities.  The  idea  of  a  sixth-form  boy 
in  a  public  school  being  treated  in  the  same 
way  as  a  small  boy  in  the  fourth  is  unthink- 
able, but  the  above  system  is  scarcely  more 
reasonable. 

To  ensure  this  classification  it  may  be 
necessary  to  institute  another  class  of  Industrial 
School  to  include  all  the  boys  under  15  who 
are  now  in  Reformatories,  and  those  who  are 
over  12  who  are  now  in  Industrial  Schools. 
Those  who  are  under  1 5  when  committed 
to  a  Reformatory  would  spend  the  intervening 
years  at  the  Middle  School,  and  it  is  reason- 
able to  hope  that  their  characters  would  then 
be  sufficiently  firmly  established  to  resist  any 
evil  influence  that  they  might  meet  in  the 
Senior  School.  The  Senior  School  would  be 
as  far  as  possible  on  the  lines  of  a  self-governing 
and  self-supporting  community.  The  boys  who 
are  now  committed  to  Industrial  Schools  until 
they  are  16  would,  if  necessary,  spend  their 
final  year  at  the  Middle  School  ;  but,  wher- 
ever possible,  they  would  be  licensed  before  they 
had  reached   that  age.      Boys  and  girls  under 


CLASSIFICATION  175 

12  could  be  cared  for  together  in  a  Preparatory 
School,  under  the  charge  of  women  teachers. 
The  London  County  Council  has  recently 
established  two  Special  Schools  for  boys  under 
8,  and  those  who  are  old  enough  attend  the 
neighbouring  Elementary  Schools.  When  they 
reach  the  age  of  8  they  are  sent  to  the  ordinary 
Industrial  Schools.  Age  classification  is  less 
important  in  girls'  schools,  as  the  schools  are 
usually  smaller,  and  the  presence  of  little  girls 
helps  to  make  the  life  more  like  that  of  a 
family  and  less  like  that  of  an  institution.  But 
in  spite  of  this  it  is  far  wiser  for  all  the  children 
under  8  to  be  boarded  out  with  suitable  foster 
parents. 

.  Beyond  age  classifications  and  separate  pro- 
visions for  those  who  are  unquestionably 
mentally  or  morally  deficient,  classification  is 
unwise  and  unnecessary.  Unhappily  there 
are  some  girls  committed  to  the  schools  whose 
minds  have  been  seriously  contaminated ;  a 
Special  School  has  recently  been  provided  for 
such  cases,  and  therefore  there  need  be  no 
more  risk  of  such  girls  contaminating  the 
minds  of  their  innocent  companions.  But  for 
the  great  majority  of  children  systematic  classi- 
fication, according  to  their  offence  or  the 
offence  of  their  parents,  is  impossible.  It  is 
quite  probable  that  a  boy  who  has  been  three 
times    convicted    may   have    a   less    pernicious 


176  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

influence  on  his  fellows  than  a  boy  who  is 
committed  because  he  is  said  to  be  unmanage- 
able, or  even  because  he  has  been  seriously- 
neglected  by  his  parents.  Even  if  such  classi- 
fication were  possible  it  would  be  unwise.  An 
experienced  U.S.A.  Superintendent  has  written : 
"  Do  not  tell  a  boy  he  is  bad  by  putting  him 
by  himself,  or  with  any  exclusive  company  of 
the  bad.  ...  If  the  bad  boy  sees  that  he  is  treated 
as  well  as  the  boy  of  superior  merit,  he  will 
endeavour  to  rise  to  that  merit." 

In  Hungary  there  is  no  distinction  made 
between  the  children  placed  under  moral  control 
and  those  who  are  destitute,  and  there  can 
be  no  reason  for  the  rigid  distinction  which 
now  exists  in  this  country.  Eventually  all  the 
juvenile  wards  of  the  State  may  be  cared  for 
together  in  village  communities  similar  to  those 
of  Hungary,  schools  only  being  used  for  those 
who  need  a  special  education,  or  for  those  who 
require  more  supervision.  Meanwhile  a  division 
of  the  schools  into  Senior,  Junior,  and  Pre- 
paratory is  a  scheme  which  could  be  adopted 
without  much  difficulty,  the  existing  schools 
being  divided  into  the  three  classes. 

Whatever  type  of  school  is  eventually  con- 
sidered most  suitable  for  this  class  of  English 
children,  there  will  be  one  fundamental  prin- 
ciple underlying  the  organization.  If,  as  is 
generally  accepted,  children  are  for  the  most 


THE    AIM   OF   THE   TRAINING  177 

part  delinquent  because  they  are  untrained 
rather  than  because  they  are  criminal,  the 
methods  will  be  essentially  educative.  Mr. 
Gladstone  once  said,  "It  is  liberty  alone  that 
fits  men  for  liberty."  This  will  be  the  corner- 
stone of  the  training  ;  everything  will  be  done 
to  equip  the  boys  and  girls  for  efficient  citizen- 
ship ;  but  this  will  not  be  by  repression  and 
stern  discipline.  The  teachers  will  be  as 
gardeners  in  Life's  garden  ;  much  pruning 
and  cutting  is  sometimes  necessary  before  the 
young  plants  are  ready  to  bloom,  but  what 
they  all  need  is  nourishment,  whether  from 
the  earth  beneath  or  the  heavens  above. 
There  are  a  few  plants  which  always  need  a 
support ;  their  stems  are  too  frail  to  support 
their  heavy  heads.  There  are  others  which 
constantly  need  trimming,  otherwise  they  would 
cause  confusion  in  the  garden.  They  all  have 
varying  needs,  and  the  gardeners  must  be 
infinitely  patient  and  wise ;  but  great  indeed 
is  their  reward  when  one  day  they  find  a 
delicate  plant,  which  had  caused  endless  anxiety 
and  unceasing  toil,  at  last  responding  to  their 
efforts.  Their  joy  is  complete  when  the  tiny 
bud  bursts  into  a  radiant  blossom. 

The  teachers  have  especially  to  guard  against 
too  much  pruning,  which  may  result  in  the 
taking  away  of  both  individuality  and  initia- 
tive.    They   should    be    rather    the   leaders   in 

12 


178  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

a  community,  where  every  one  is  given  some 
responsibility. 

And  some  can  pot  begonias  and  some  can  bud  a  rose, 
And  some  are  hardly  fit  to  trust  with  anything  that  grows  ; 
But  they  can  roll  and  trim  the  lawns  and  sift  the  sand  and 

loam, 
For  the  glory  of  the  Garden  occupieth  all  who  come.^ 

The  life  of  the  community  must  be  as  similar 
as  possible  to  that  of  the  great  world  outside. 
A  conventual  or  a  prison-like  life  does  not  ade- 
quately equip  those  who  are  going  to  join 
the  vast  army  of  workers.  The  strongest  men 
and  women  are  those  who  have  borne  re- 
sponsibilities and  overcome  temptations,  not 
those  who  have  led  a  completely  sheltered  life. 
If  behind  it  all  there  is  the  power  of  real 
religion,  to  encourage,  to  strengthen,  and  in- 
spire, the  success  of  the  community  will  be 
assured. 

Much  depends  upon  the  leaders,  who  have 
a  sacred  trust  given  to  them.  Sometimes  they 
are  faced  with  what  may  seem  insurmountable 
difficulties,  and  yet  "  They  have  not  to  weary 
in  well-doing,  or  despair  of  unrewarded  efforts. 
.  .  .  Let  it  be  enough  for  faith  that  the  whole 
creation  groans  in  mortal  frailty,  strives  with 
unconquerable    constancy,    surely    not    all    in 


i>  2 

vam. 


»  "  The  Glory  of  the  Garden,"  Rudyard  Kipling. 
'  "  Pulvis  et  Umbra,"  R.  L.  Stevenson. 


CHAPTER   XI 

THE  DEPARTMENTAL  COMMITTEE   OF   1911 

A — Administration  and  Management. 

B — Education  and  Discipline. 

C — Industrial  Training. 

D — Disposal  and  After-care. 

A — Administration  and  Management 

IN  March  1 9 II,  as  a  result  of  the  attention 
of  Parliament  being  called  to  certain  abuses 
said  to  exist  at  the  Heswall  Nautical  School, 
a  Departmental  Committee  was  formed  to  in- 
quire into  the  constitution,  management,  dis- 
cipline, and  education  of  Reformatory  and 
Industrial  Schools  in  England  and  Wales. 
After  making  the  most  thorough  and  searching 
inquiries  the  Committee  issued  their  Report 
June  7,  1913. 

A  high  tribute  is  paid  to  the  work  that  is 
being  carried  on  by  the  schools,  but  at  the 
same  time  the  fact  that  there  is  a  wide  differ-! 
ence  in  their  efficiency  is  much  emphasized 
throughout  the  Report.  "  Many  schools  are 
good    or    fair,    some    excellent,    some,    owing 

179 


180  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

mainly  to  lack  of  funds,  fall  below  the  standard 
which  ought  to  be  required  of  institutions 
certified  by  a  Government  Department.  Many 
combine  certain  good  points  with  defects  which 
ought  to  be  remedied  without  delay."  To 
procure  "the  general  levelling  up"  of  the 
schools  the  Report  recommends  a  considerable 
reorganization  of  the  Central  Authority.  At 
present  the  schools  are  managed  by  a  Central 
Authority  (the  Home  Office),  whose  main  work 
is  in  no  way  connected  with  education.  It  stands 
to  reason  that  officials  who  are  chiefly  occupied 
with  police  regulations,  organization  of  prisons, 
and  granting  of  licences  are  not  the  most 
suitable  people  to  control  the  education  and 
management  of  this  class  of  children.  As  a 
result  of  this  much  of  the  work  has  fallen  on 
the  Chief  Inspector  and  his  staff,  and  it  is 
quite  clear  that  such  an  arrangement  means 
that  neither  the  inspection  nor  the  adminis- 
tration can  be  really  efficient.  Even  if  it  were 
possible  for  both  to  be  efficient,  such  an  ar- 
rangement is  extremely  unwise.  The  Report 
therefore  recommends  that  a  special  branch 
of  the  Home  Office  should  be  constituted  to 
deal  solely  with  the  administration  of  Certified 
Schools  and  Children's  Courts,  having  the 
assistance  of  an  Advisory  Committee.  This 
committee  should  consist  of  seven  members, 
three    at    least    being    women,    who    have    the 


THE  ADVISORY   COMMIITEE  181 

leisure  and  the  ability  to  study  the  educational 
problems  as  they  arise,  and  watch  the  changing 
social  and  industrial  conditions,  advising  the 
Administrative  Department  accordingly.  It  is 
recommended  that  the  two  bodies  should  meet 
at  least  once  a  quarter,  with  further  special 
meetings  when  desirable.  The  members  of 
the  Advisory  Committee  should  be  unpaid,  but 
they  should  have  the  assistance  of  a  paid 
secretary,  who  should  be  a  member  of  the 
Administrative  Department,  this  arrangement 
ensuring  that  the  views  of  the  Advisory  Com- 
mittee are  constantly  kept  before  the  paid 
officials.  Without  lessening  the  work  of  the 
voluntary  managers  and  local  authorities,  it  is 
necessary  that  there  should  be,  as  the  Report 
recommends,  "  a  vigorous  Central  Department 
to  raise  the  level  of  the  inferior  schools,  to 
initiate  and  guide  improvements,  and  to  build 
up  the  necessary  organization  in  such  matters 
as  disposal  and  after-care,  where  co-operation 
between  the  scattered  and  independent  schools 
is  essential  for  efficiency." 

B — Education  and  Discipline 

In  order  to  raise  the  standard  of  education 
throughout  the  schools  the  Report  recommends 
that  in  future  the  elementary  education,  in- 
dustrial training,  and  physical  training  should 


182  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

be  inspected  by  the  inspectors  of  the  Board  of 
Education.  This  would  prevent  the  schools 
from  being  "an  isolated  province  cut  off  from 
the  larger  system  of  national  education,"  which 
has  been  so  serious  a  disadvantage  in  the  past. 
As  the  Chief  Inspector  of  Elementary  Schools 
said,  when  giving  evidence  before  the  Com- 
mittee, "  It  is  extremely  difficult  for  an  inspector 
whose  experience  is  limited  to  a  few  schools  of 
a  particular  type,  either  to  acquire  a  true  stan- 
dard in  assessing  their  merits,  since  his  basis  of 
comparison  is  too  narrow,  or  to  bring  to  bear 
on  the  improvement  of  their  instruction  and 
administration  really  fruitful  principles,  which 
can  only  be  derived  from  a  wide  knowledge  of 
the  best  thought  and  practice  current  in  the 
profession."  It  is,  in  the  words  of  the  Report, 
essential  that  "these  children  should  not  be 
considered  as  a  class  apart  ;  their  needs  and 
capacities  can  best  be  appreciated  by  a  man 
accustomed  to  measure  the  needs  and  capacities 
of  other  children."  It  is  recommended  that  the 
Home  Office  inspectors  should  be  mainly  con- 
cerned with  the  management  and  discipline  of 
the  schools,  and  questions  referring  to  after- 
care and  disposal. 

The  idea  of  this  dual  inspection  is  opposed 
in  a  strong  memorandum,  which  is  signed  by 
two  members  of  the  Committee,  on  the  grounds 
of  the  danger  of  divided  responsibility.     In  the 


DUAL   INSPECTION  183 

first  place,  "A  child's  life  in  these  schools  must 
be  regarded  and  treated  as  a  single  whole. 
Education  and  industrial  training  cannot  be 
separated  from  questions  relating  to  ultimate 
disposal  of  the  child  to  his  future  occupation  in 
life  ;  nor  from  questions  relating  to  staff,  dis- 
cipline, and  time-table.  Nor  can  they  be 
separated  from  questions  of  dietary,  recreation, 
buildings,  accommodation,  equipment,  clothing, 
and  sanitation."  Secondly,  "the  danger  of 
dual  inspection  appears  to  be  not  in  friction  so 
much  as  ineffectiveness,"  each  inspector  hesi- 
tating to  give  directions  with  which  he  fears 
his  colleague  will  not  agree.  Thirdly,  the 
Home  Office  inspectors  would  work  directly 
from  head-quarters,  whereas  the  Board  of 
Education  inspectors  are  localized,  and  there- 
fore the  former  would  be  likely  to  find  different 
methods  and  different  standards  being  pre- 
scribed in  the  various  districts.  Fourthly,  there 
would  be  a  danger  that  the  Central  Authority's 
control  would  become  even  weaker  than  it  is 
at  present.  The  signatories  of  this  memorandum 
consider  that  the  whole  responsibility  for  in- 
spection should  rest  with  the  Home  Office. 
Five  other  members  of  the  Committee  con- 
sider that  the  schools  should  be  given  over 
entirely  to  the  control  of  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion. It  is  interesting  to  know  that  the  Royal 
Commission  of  1884  suggested  that    the    ele- 


184  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

mentary  education  should  be  inspected  by 
inspectors  from  the  Board  of  Education,  and 
it  was  considered  that  there  need  be  no  difficulty 
in  satisfactorily  adjusting  the  provinces  of  the 
two  sets  of  inspectors.  It  is  evident  that  the 
Report  is  attempting  a  compromise,  but  a 
compromise  which  involves  divided  responsi- 
bility may  have  grave  dangers. 

In  order  to  insure  more  efficient  medical  in- 
spection, the  Report  recommends  that  the  present 
part-time  medical  officer  should  be  made  a 
whole-time  inspector,  and  that  furthermore  he 
should  have  the  assistance  of  a  qualified  medical 
woman,  who  should  visit  the  boys'  schools  as 
well  as  the  girls'.  It  is  also  recommended 
that  the  appointment  of  women  doctors  for 
girls'  schools  should  be  encouraged,  and  in 
certain  special  girls'  schools  insisted  upon. 

As  regards  the  Committees  of  Managers,  the 
most  important  recommendation  is,  that  the 
committees  of  all  the  schools,  both  boys'  and 
girls',  should  have  women  members,  and  also 
that  the  Central  Authority  should  have  power 
to  nominate  one  member  if  they  wish  to  do  so. 
If  it  considers  that  the  Committee  of  Managers 
does  not  come  up  to  a  certain  standard,  it  will 
withhold  the  grant  or  continuation  of  the  cer- 
tificate ;  another  condition  of  the  continuance 
of  the  certificate  being  that  the  Central 
Authority  should  approve  the  appointment  of 


SUPERANiNUATION  185 

the  Superintendent.  Although  the  Committee 
appear  to  be  impressed  with  the  character  and 
talent  of  many  Superintendents,  they  have 
apparently  found  a  great  number  who  are  quite 
unsuited  to  the  work  of  caring  for  delinquent 
children.  Furthermore,  they  have  found  that 
too  large  a  proportion  of  the  teachers  are  un- 
certificated, and  also  that  the  technical  in- 
structors are  not  always  sufficiently  skilled  in 
the  theoretical  side  of  their  work  ;  great  stress 
is  laid  on  the  need  for  them  to  be  men  and 
women  of  high  character. 

Another  important  recommendation  is  that 
provision  should  be  made  for  pensioning  all 
the  members  of  the  staff.  Evidence  was  given 
that  a  large  number  of  the  officers  were  over 
60  years  of  age,  and  the  two  following  cases 
were  quoted:  (1)  A  school  with  28  officers, 
of  whom  6  were  over  60,  their  ages  being 
61,  64,  65,  'JO,  76  ;  (2)  a  school  with  24  officers, 
of  whom  6  are  between  the  ages  of  64  and  69. 
The  Report  recommends  that  a  fund  should  be 
established  by  contributions  from  the  bene- 
ficiaries of  the  schools,  and  the  general  funds  ; 
details  of  the  scheme  should  be  left  for  the 
Central  Authority  to  settle  in  consultation  with 
the  Treasury,  and  representatives  of  the 
Managers  and  Superintendents,  As  regards 
the  actual  composition  of  the  staff,  it  is  recom- 
mended   that    provision    should    be    made    for 


186  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

married  teachers,  and  that  in  all  boys'  schools, 
including  ships,  there  should  be  a  matron  on 
the  staff.  One  of  the  male  members  of  the 
Committee,  in  a  Memorandum,  writes  :  "  I 
desire  to  record  my  strong  belief  in  the  need 
of  cultured  women  being  on  the  staff  of  all  the 
schools.  In  ordinary  boarding  schools  boys 
have  long  holidays  three  times  a  year,  in  which 
they  are  under  the  influence  of  home  and 
family.  These  influences  are  missing  in  the 
case  of  Reformatory  and  Industrial  School 
children,  who  in  many  cases  remain  at  school 
without  any  break  during  the  whole  period  of 
their  detention." 

The  Committee  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  classification  is  only  necessary  for  girls  who 
have  been  morally  contaminated  (a  special 
school  is  now  certified  for  such  cases) ;  but 
they  suggest  that  there  should  be  more  classifi- 
cation by  age.  In  the  first  place  all  boys  under 
8  should  be  boarded  out,  and  failing  this 
they  should  be  sent  to  a  school  where 
children  are  not  received  beyond  the  age  of  8. 
Secondly,  no  boy  under  12  should  be  sent 
to  a  Training  Ship,  and  boys  who  show 
that  they  have  no  taste  for  sea  life  should  be 
transferred  to  shore  schools.  Thirdly,  although 
there  is  less  objection  to  mixing  older  and 
younger  girls  in  the  same  school,  more  needs 
to  be  done   in   the   way    of  boarding  out  the 


CLASSIFICATION  187 

very  young  children.      As  there  is  sometimes 
a    risk    of   new    girls    over    12    having   a  bad 
influence    over    those   that   are    younger,  it    is 
recommended    that    girls'     Industrial    Schools 
should     be    divided     into     two     classes:    (i) 
Schools  admitting  children  under   8,    and    not 
admitting   children    over    12;    (2)    schools    ad- 
mitting   children     between    8    and     14.       No 
feeble-minded    children   are   to    be    committed 
to  ordinary  Reformatory  and  Industrial  Schools, 
but    should    such    children    be   committed,  the 
Central  Authority  should   have  power  to  send 
them  to  other   institutions  as  soon  as  it  is  dis- 
covered.    (There   are   at    present    six    schools 
certified  for  feeble-minded  and    epileptic   chil- 
dren.)    It  is  also  suggested  that  as   the  main 
distinction  between  the  two  classes  of  schools 
is  one  of  age,  the  schools  should  in   future  be 
known    by    the    names    of  Senior  and    Junior 
Industrial  Schools,  or  Senior  and  Junior  Home 
Office  Schools.     This  would  do  away  with  the 
name  "  Reformatory,"  which    has    some  preju- 
dicial associations  partly  because  the  children 
have  been  "convicted."     The  Committee  now 
recommend  that  the  Children  Act  be  amended 
so  as   to  enable   magistrates  to  commit  young 
delinquents    to    Reformatories,    or    rather    the 
Senior  Schools,  without  "convicting"  them.    At 
present  those  who  have  been   twice  convicted 
must  not  be  sent  to   Industrial  Schools,  but  it 


188  YOUNG    DELINQUENTS 

is  recommended  that  this  proviso  in  the  Act 
should  be  repealed,  since  there  are  many  children 
who  are  eminently  suitable  for  such  training, 
and  yet  are  ineligible  because  of  a  previous 
conviction,  which  may  be  for  a  very  trifling 
offence.  These  last-named  recommendations 
are  important  ;  they  clearly  indicate  that  the 
Report  aims  to  abolish  the  last  traces  of  the 
stigma  attached  to  the  children  in  Reformatory 
Schools,  which  in  the  past  has  often  cruelly 
hampered  their  career. 

The  Committee  are  unanimous  and  emphatic 
in  their  opinion  that  many  of  the  defects  of  the 
schools  are  largely  due  to  lack  of  sufficient 
income,  and  therefore  they  make  some  im- 
portant recommendations. 

Firstly,  there  should  be  a  Minimum  Main- 
tenance Grant  as  follows  : 


From  the 

From  the  Local 

Total. 

Treasury. 

Authority. 

s.  d. 

S.    d. 

s.  d. 

Boys'  Reformatory 

.     6    6 

3    6 

10     o 

Gills' 

.    6    o 

3    o 

9    o 

Boys'  Industrial   . 

•     5    o 

4     6 

9    6 

Girls'         „ 

•    4    6 

4    o 

8    6 

The  estimated  additional  cost  to  the  State  is 
^34,276,  to  the  Local  Authorities  ;!^io,70o. 

Secondly,  there  should  be  in  addition  a 
"  Variable  Treasury  Grant "  for  both  Reforma- 
tory and  Industrial  Schools,  to  be  allocated  by 
the  Central  Authority  at  discretion. 


FINANCIAL   RECOMMENDATIONS      189 

The  gross  maximum  amount  of  this  grant  would  be    .;^48,ooo 
Less  (i)  Existing  Reformatory  Aid  Grant      .  ;^8,ooo 
„    (2)  Special  grants  surrendered        .         .     7,860 

15,860 


Maximum  net  additional  cost  to  State      .  ;^32, 140 

Thirdly,  it  is  suggested  that  "  Special  grants 
or  loans  in  aid  of  the  building  of  new  schools,  or 
the  rebuilding  or  alteration  of  existing  schools, 
should  be  made  by  the  Treasury.  These 
should  be  supplemented  by  grants  or  loans 
from  the  local  authorities." 

Some  of  the  other  extra  provisions  recom- 
mended are  for  the  children  and  young  persons 
in  Auxiliary  Homes,  for  those  who  are  boarded 
out  with  "  fit  persons,"  instead  of  being  sent  to 
a  school,  and  for  those  who  are  emigrated. 
The  total  maximum  cost  to  the  State  is 
approximately  ^73,076.  In  describing  the 
financial  difficulties  of  the  schools,  the  Report 
points  out  that  "  economy  in  the  industrial 
training  is  false  economy  for  the  nation,  whose 
interests  are  best  secured  by  sending  the 
children  out  into  the  world  well  equipped  as 
wealth  producers."  The  additional  assistance 
from  the  State  is  for  actual  needs,  and  for  "  no 
extravagant  ideals."  In  short,  in  the  words  of 
the  Report,  "while  there  is  no  school  that  has 
not  to  be  very  careful,  there  are  many  whose 
work  is  hampered  and  whose  staff  is  unduly 
harassed    by    poverty,  while   a    few,    including 


190  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

some   of  great  value,  are  in  danger  of  actual 
extinction." 

Concerning  the  education  that  is  given  in 
the  schools,  it  is  hoped  that  by  placing  it  under 
the  control  of  the  Board  of  Education  the 
standard  may  become  considerably  higher  than 
it  is  at  present.  The  Committee  evidently  think 
that  the  teachers  lead  far  too  restricted  lives, 
and  that  they  have  little  leisure  or  opportunity 
to  study  modern  educational  requirements  or  to 
meet  teachers  from  other  types  of  schools. 
Where  this  is  the  case,  the  education  cannot  be 
really  efficient.  The  Committee  also  think 
that  up  to  the  age  of  12  all  children  should 
spend  "  full  time  "  in  school-room,  which  should 
include  manual  training,  specially  designed 
to  train  hand  and  eye.  After  the  age  of  1 2  the 
"  half-time  "  system  may  probably  be  adopted. 
The  physical  education  needs  in  many  cases  to 
be  more  systematic,  and  a  detailed  programme 
is  suggested.  It  includes,  (a)  Free  standing 
exercises  (based  on  the  Swedish  system)  ; 
(d)  Gymnastic  and  playground  games,  dancing 
steps,  etc.  ;  (e)  Apparatus  exercises  ;  (d)  Field 
games,  sports,  swimming,  etc.  It  is  pointed 
out  that  in  certain  boys'  schools  there  is  a 
tendency  to  give  too  much  attention  to  show 
gymnastics  and  displays,  and  not  enough  to  the 
general  physical  development  of  the  children, 
and  especially  of  the   weakly  boys.     There  is 


CORPORAL   PUNISHMENT  191 

much  need  for  a  physical  training  which  aims 
to  promote  a  harmonious  development  of  the 
mind  and  body  of  each  individual  child.  The 
Committee  warmly  urges  that  summer  camps 
and  country  or  seaside  holidays  should  be 
encouraged,  one  of  the  chief  drawbacks  of  the 
schools  being  that  in  so  many  cases  there  is 
litde  to  break  the  monotony  of  the  school 
routine.  They  recommend  that  further  pro- 
visions should  be  made  for  indoor  recreation, 
and  also  that  attention  should  be  paid  to  the 
provision  of  reading-rooms  and  suitable  books, 
and  for  each  child  to  have  a  locker  of  his  own. 
There  are  no  drastic  recommendations  con- 
cerning the  maintenance  of  discipline,  but  great 
emphasis  is  laid  on  the  need  for  corporal  punish- 
ment to  be  an  "  exceptional  method  used  in 
exceptional  circumstances."  Apparently  there 
is  a  strong  feeling  amongst  the  Superintendents 
that  they  could  not  manage  to  maintain  dis- 
cipline in  their  schools  without  corporal  punish- 
ment. The  Committee  feel  that  there  should 
be  a  considerable  reduction  in  the  number  of 
strokes,  namely,  in  Reformatories  from  i8  to 
12,  and  in  Industrial  Schools  from  12  to  8. 
Furthermore,  caning  on  the  hand  is  strongly 
deprecated,  four  strokes  inflicted  on  the  palm 
of  the  hand  by  the  head  teacher  being  a 
maximum.  One  member  of  the  Committee 
recommends  the  total  abolition  of  such  punish- 


192  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

ment.  An  interesting  petition  was  signed  by 
seven  Superintendents  of  Girls*  Reformatories 
asking  that  "some  degree  of  corporal  punish- 
ment should  be  placed  in  the  power  of  Superin- 
tendents in  girls'  schools."  The  following  are 
some  of  the  representations  that  are  made  : 
"  The  Committee  will,  we  are  sure,  believe 
that  we  do  not  advocate  this  method  of  pun- 
ishment from  any  motive  inconsistent  with 
humanity  and  a  sincere  regard  for  the  welfare 
of  the  children  committed  to  our  charge.  The 
infliction  of  personal  chastisement  is  intensely 
distasteful  to  all  of  us,  and  we  only  advocate  it 
as  a  last  resource.  Further,  we  believe  that  if 
it  were  made  known  in  our  schools  that  such  a 
method  of  punishment  is  open  to  Superinten- 
dents, many  of  the  serious  offences  now  of 
frequent  occurrence  would  not  be  committed  at 
all  ...  ;  the  influence  of  one  stubborn  and 
refractory  girl  who  goes  practically  unpunished 
has  a  fatal  effect  upon  a  number  of  others, 
interfering  with  the  discipline  of  an  entire 
school.  .  .  .  We  make  our  application  to  your 
Committee  mainly  in  the  interest  of  the  children 
in  our  schools,  but  we  have  also  to  say  that  a 
constant  struggle  to  establish  and  maintain,  by 
moral  suasion  alone,  obedience  and  submission 
to  instruction  is  a  heavy  strain  upon  the  physical 
capabilities  of  ourselves  and  our  matrons,  which 
renders  our  work   vastly  more   trying  than   it 


CORPORAL  PUNISHMENT  193 

need  be.  The  fatigue  and  depression  induced 
by  such  efforts  cannot  easily  be  described,  and 
must  react  upon  our  general  efficiency."  In 
view  of  this  communication,  a  special  sub- 
committee was  appointed  to  investigate  the 
whole  question,  which  eventually  came  to  the 
conclusion  that,  "  though  good  Superintendents 
would  probably  seldom  or  never  use  corporal 
punishment  if  it  were  permitted,  yet  the  power 
to  inflict  it  in  extreme  cases  would  be  useful." 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  with  the  improved 
methods  of  education  and  the  better  under- 
standing of  the  girls'  spiritual  needs,  that  these 
"extreme  cases"  may  never  occur. 

The  Committee  much  emphasize  the  import- 
ance that  all  corporal  punishments  should  be 
faithfully  and  accurately  recorded,  the  Managers 
and  Medical  Officer  sharing  the  responsibility 
with  the  Superintendent.  It  is  agreed  that 
punishment  cells  should  be  finally  abolished, 
and  that  solitary  confinement  should  never  be 
inflicted  as  a  punishment,  unless  the  child  is 
shut  up  in  a  room  which  is  light  and  otherwise 
suitable.  Such  punishment  may  sometimes  be 
necessary  in  order  that  a  child  may  recover 
from  a  fit  of  temper.  Beyond  deprivation  of 
treacle  or  jam,  or  similar  items,  punishment  by 
deprivation  of  food  should  be  prohibited.  As  a 
means  of  maintaining  discipline,  the  Committee 
express  their  approval  of  the  Mark  System, 
13 


194  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

provided  that  it  is  carefully  thought  out  and 
efficiently  worked.  An  important  recommenda- 
tion, which  may  be  unheeded  in  the  midst  of 
those  which  are  more  drastic,  is  that  there 
should  be  a  greater  amount  of  liberty  allowed 
all  the  children.  "  The  example  of  schools 
where  doors  are  not  locked,  where  children  are 
sent  out  on  errands,  where  there  is  free  access 
to  playing  fields,  and  where  half-holidays  on 
parole  are  allowed,  should  be  generally  fol- 
lowed. .  .  .  The  Central  Authority  should  pay 
special  attention  to  these  points  and  encourage 
Managers  to  adopt  all  measures  which  combine 
with  the  bracing  effects  of  trust,  means  of 
spreading  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  outside 
world." 

C — Industrial  Training 

Beyond  finally  prohibiting  non-educational 
employment,  such  as  wood-chopping,  paper-bag 
making,  hiring  out  boys  for  domestic  and  agri- 
cultural work,  the  Report  makes  no  important 
recommendations.  There  is  great  stress  laid 
on  the  need  for  more  time  being  given  to  skilled 
work,  and  for  giving  the  boys  an  all-round 
industrial  equipment  rather  than  letting  them 
spend  much  time  in  the  tailoring  and  shoe- 
making  shops.  The  Committee  consider  that 
in  girls'  schools  there  is  still  greater  danger  of 
the  training  being  subordinated  to  the  needs  of 


INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING  195 

the  institution.  The  Organizer  of  Technical 
Classes  for  Girls  to  the  L.C.C.,  who  had 
visited  24  schools,  in  giving  evidence,  said : 
"  I  think  it  is  not  an  unfair  criticism  on  these 
schools  that  the  work  is  organized  chiefly  from 
the  point  of  view  of  how  it  can  best  in  volume 
be  got  through."  The  Report  therefore  urges 
the  necessity  for  there  being  a  large  diminution 
of  the  drudgery  in  household  work  and  rough 
washing.  An  important  recommendation,  which 
would  be  a  complete  innovation,  is  the  teaching 
of  special  trades  to  girls  who  are  not  suited  for 
domestic  service.  The  Report  suggests  that 
where  trade  centres  exist  special  trade  schools 
should  be  founded,  the  girls  being  transferred 
to  these  schools  from  the  ordinary  schools  when 
they  are  13 J.  In  connection  with  such  schools 
there  should  be  Auxiliary  Homes  where  the 
girls  could  live  when  they  are  licensed  out  at 
the  age  of  15^  years,  the  Home  being  super- 
vised by  an  experienced  matron  who  was 
familiar  with  the  organization  and  methods  of 
girls'  clubs,  and  had  not  had  merely  an  institu- 
tional training. 

D — Disposal  and  After-care 

There  are  three  important  recommendations 
as  to  licensing  and  supervision.  (i)  "All 
Reformatory  inmates  to  be  licensed   1 2  months 


196  YOUNG  DELINQUENTS 

or  more  before  the  age  of  i8,  unless  there  are 
special  and  exceptional  reasons  to  the  contrary." 

(2)  "  That  the  age  of  supervision  for  Refor- 
matory School  inmates  to  be  extended  to  20." 
(At  present  in  many  cases  the  boys  and  the 
girls  leave  school  when  they  are  19  and  the 
authorities  have  no  more  control  over  them  ; 
this  arrangement  would  procure  for  them  two 
years  of  supervision  after   they  leave  school.) 

(3)  "  Children  committed  under  the  Education 
Act  to  Industrial  Schools  for  failure  to  attend 
the  Public  Elementary  Schools  to  be,  like  the 
rest,  under  supervision  until  they  are  rS."  (At 
present  the  Managers  have  no  power  over  these 
children  after  they  are  16  ;  in  many  instances 
they  have  been  altogether  powerless  to  prevent 
them  returning  to  undesirable  surroundings.) 

Beyond  emphasizing  the  need  for  securing 
accurate  returns  as  to  disposals,  the  Report 
has  no  important  recommendations  to  make  ; 
but  it  advises  that  the  form  in  which  the 
returns  are  made  to  the  Central  Authority 
should  be  improved,  in  order  to  secure  greater 
accuracy.  In  addition  to  this  it  is  considered 
questionable  whether  so  many  children  should 
be  "  returned  to  friends " ;  at  present  the 
friends  and  relations  often  make  themselves 
known  the  very  day  the  boy  or  girl  is  to  be 
discharged  ;  not,  it  is  to  be  feared,  from  any 
deep-rooted  affection  for  the   child,  but  more 


AFTER-CARE  197 

often  because  they  are  concerned  in  his  or 
her  economic  value.  The  Committee  again 
emphasize  the  need  for  considering  the  taste 
and  aptitude  of  each  child,  and  they  urge  that 
more  children  should  be  sent  to  skilled  industrial 
occupations.  For  such  boys  and  girls  it  is 
recommended  that  there  should  be  Auxiliary 
Homes,  and  the  schools  are  urged  to  co- 
operate in  the  founding  of  such  homes. 

The  arduous  work  of  after-care  is  mainly 
borne  by  the  Superintendents,  the  actual 
arrangements  differing  in  the  various  schools. 
The  Committee  consider  that  this  work,  and 
also  the  work  of  disposal,  could  be  greatly 
simplified  and  improved  by  the  organization 
of  a  system  of  agents  throughout  the  country 
(at  present  there  are  only  three  agents,  and 
they  act  as  a  private  firm)  ;  (i)  the  agents 
"  should  be  constantly  collecting  information 
as  to  suitable  places  for  children,  and  (2)  they 
should  supervise  and  report  on  the  children 
placed  out  in  the  district."  As  the  Report 
points  out,  it  is  in  no  way  necessary  that  all 
agents  should  be  paid  ;  it  is  essentially  work 
which  could  be  partially  left  to  voluntary 
workers.  Still  further  use  could  be  made  of 
existing  organizations  such  as  the  Children's 
Aid  Society,  the  Metropolitan  Association  for 
Befriending  Young  Servants,  and  the  Girls' 
Friendly  Society.  The  Committee  calls  attention 


198  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

to  the  work  that  is  now  being  carried  on  by 
the  Care  Committee  attached  to  the  Birming- 
ham Education  Authority.  A  Sub-Committee 
has  recently  been  formed  to  supervise  children 
from  Industrial  Schools  who  are  workinsf  in 
the  city,  even  though  they  may  not  have  been 
originally  committed  from  Birmingham,  and 
each  child  is  assigned  a  "  helper "  when  he 
arrives  in  the  town.  It  is,  in  the  words  of 
the  Report,  for  *'  the  Central  Authority  to 
gather  together,  supplement,  and  build  into 
a  complete  scheme  the  individuals  and  societies 
who  are  at  present  working  in  a  disorganized 
and  fragmentary  manner." 

Further  recommendations  in  the  Report 
concern  buildings  and  domestic  arrangements, 
which  apparently  need  in  many  instances  to  be 
considerably  improved.  The  Committee  are 
also  evidently  of  the  opinion  that  schools  of 
moderate  size  are  to  be  preferred  to  large 
ones,  and  they  suggest  that  new  schools  should 
be  limited  to  150,  and  that  no  school  whose 
numbers  now  stand  at  that  figure,  or  below, 
should  be  allowed  to  grow  beyond  it ;  when 
practicable  the  numbers  of  the  largest  schools 
should  be  reduced.  The  Report  further  recom- 
mends that  Short-term  Industrial  Schools  should 
be  discontinued  as  soon  as  is  possible,  and  that 
children  sent  to  Day  Industrial  Schools  should 
be  committed  until  they  reach  the  age  of  14, 


THE  AIM   OF  THE   REPORT  199 

the  local   authorities   being  urged  to  institute 
arrangements  for  efficient  after-care. 

Such  are  the  main  recommendations  of  the 
Departmental  Committee  of  1913.  It  was  said 
that  it  was  the  aim  of  the  Children  Act  "  to 
shut  the  prison  door  and  open  the  door  of 
hope."  It  may  be  said  of  this  Report  that  it 
aims  finally  to  conceal  the  prison  door,  and 
permanently  to  hold  open  the  door  of  hope. 
The  members  of  the  Committee  have  evidently 
had  the  children's  highest  interests  at  heart, 
and  their  recommendations  are  solely  with  a 
view  to  help  them  become  self-respecting  and 
useful  citizens,  yet  at  the  same  time  there  is 
nothing  visionary  or  fantastic.  There  is  a 
sincere  appreciation  of  the  work  that  is  now 
being  carried  on  ;  there  is  a  practical  under- 
standing of  the  conditions  which  make  this 
work  so  difficult ;  and  lastly  there  is  an  evident 
consideration  for,  what  is  believed  to  be,  an 
overtaxed  Treasury.  If  the  recommendations 
are  carried  out,  they  will  have  far-reaching 
consequences.  But  a  strong  and  enlightened 
public  opinion  must  see  that  they  are  carried 
out.  The  Royal  Commission  of  1884  said 
that  "  profits  are  not  the  object  of  industrial 
training  "  ;  this  was  strongly  reaffirmed  by  the 
Departmental  Committee  of  1896,  and  has 
been  again  reaffirmed  in  191 3.  The  general 
public  must  now  see  that  the  schools  are  finally 


200  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

established  on  a  sound  financial  basis,  so  that 
a  future  Departmental  Committee  or  Royal 
Commission  will  have  no  grounds  for  again 
reaffirming  this  particular  recommendation. 
Again,  in  1896  it  was  said  that  punishment 
by  confinement  in  a  cell  should  be  discontinued, 
but  there  are  still  a  few  cells  found  in  191 3. 
Boarding-out  the  younger  children  was  men- 
tioned in  1884,  it  was  strongly  recommended 
in  1896,  it  was  included  in  the  Children  Act 
of  1908,  but  in  191 1  it  was  found  that  only 
eight  boys  and  three  girls  had  been  boarded 
out,  and  therefore  this  practice  is  again  strongly 
recommended.  The  need  for  every  child  to 
possess  a  locker  was  emphasized  in  1896, 
and  it  has  again  been  emphasized  in  191 3. 
Both  Committees  have  also  had  to  draw 
attention  to  the  unjustifiable  rule  of  silence 
during  meals.  The  last  are  small  points,  and 
therefore  there  can  be  no  reason  for  their  not 
being  altered  at  once.  Such  things  as  educa- 
tional efficiency  and  an  enlightened  form  of 
discipline  will  come  more  slowly,  but  the  public 
must  watch  the  schools,  encouraging  the 
authorities  to  have  a  progressive  policy.  There 
must  be  no  stagnation  or  apathy  allowed,  and 
there  must  be  no  lagging  behind  the  main 
systems  of  education,  which  are  continually 
advancing  throughout  the  world. 

The    work    of    caring    for    neglected     and 


MODERN   SOCIAL   LEGISLATION      201 

delinquent  children  will  always  be  difficult, 
but  it  will  tend  to  become  less  difficult  in 
years  to  come.  Modern  social  legislation 
which  aims  to  better  the  condition  of  the 
poorer  classes,  such  as  improved  housing, 
factory  and  workshop  legislation,  the  control 
of  the  feeble-minded,  will  all  help  to  diminish 
this  class  of  children,  and  the  even  more  direct 
work  of  After-care  Committees  and  Children's 
Courts  will  help  still  further.  But  what  is 
going  to  help  eventually  to  minimize  the  need 
for  such  schools  is  an  enlightened  public 
opinion  which  refuses  to  tolerate  the  social 
conditions  which  are  largely  responsible  for 
causing  children,  the  nation's  most  precious 
asset,   to   become  neglected  or  delinquent. 


APPENDIX   A 

REFORMATORY   SCHOOLS 

Offences  for  which  Young  Persons  were  committed  to 
Reformatories  in  1911 


Oflfence. 

Boys. 

Girls. 

Total. 

Arson 

5 

_ 

5 

Assault    .... 

6 

I 

7 

Attempted  carnal  knowledge 

3 

— 

3 

Attempted  suicide  . 

— 

I 

I 

Attempted  theft 

— 

I 

I 

Attempted  unnatural  offence  . 

2 

— 

2 

Begging          .... 

22 

2 

24 

Breaking  into  ship 

2 

— 

2 

Burglary         .... 

8 



8 

Cruelty  to  animals. 

2 



2 

Disorderly  conduct 

— 

I 

I 

Embezzlement 

24 



24 

Escaping    from    a    person    w 

ith 

whom 

placed  on  licence     . 

— 

I 

I 

Felony 

I 

— 

I 

Fraud    

— • 

I 

I 

Frequenting  . 

I 



I 

Gaming 

10 



10 

Gross  indecency     . 

I 



I 

Hawking  without  a  licence 

I 



I 

Housebreaking 

67 

5 

72 

Indecent  assault 

lO 

— 

10 

Indecent  exposure  . 

I 

— 

I 

Industrial  Schools  : 

Escaping  from    . 

12 

3 

15 

Breach  of  rules   . 

2 

2 

4 

Larceny. 

898 

118 

1,016 

Loitering  with  intent 

13 

— 

13 

Maliciously  wounding     . 

3 

— 

3 

Obtaining  by  false  pretences 

20 

6 

26 

Carried  forward               . 

1114 

142 

1256 

203 


204 


YOUNG  DELINQUENTS 


Offence. 


Brought  forward      ... 
On  enclosed  premises  for  presumed  un 

lawful  offences 
Receiving  stolen  property 
Rioting  , 
Sacrilege 
Shopbreaking 
Sleeping  out  . 
Theft  from  person 
Throwing  stones  at  a  train 
Unlawful  possession 
Vagrancy 

Warehouse  breaking 
Wilful  damage 
Workhouse,  escaping  from 
Wounding  with  the  intent  to  murder 

Total     . 


Boys. 


III4 

3 
2 
I 
I 
31 

6 

13 
I 
6 
22 
15 
9 
I 
I 

1,226 


Girls. 


Total. 


142 


149 


1256 

3 
2 
I 
I 

31 
9 

14 
I 
6 

23 

15 

9 

I 

I 

I.37S 


APPENDIX   B 

INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOLS 

Offences  for  which  Children  were  committed  to  Industrial 

Schools  in  1911 


Offence. 


Begging,  etc. 

Found  wanderings  etc.    .... 
Destitute  and  parents  in  prison,  etc. 
Parent    or     Guardian     of    criminal     or 

drunken  habits        .... 
Father  convicted  of  sexual  offence  against 

a  daughter       .         .         .         ._        • 
Frequenting    the    company    of    thieves, 

prostitutes,  etc.        .... 
Residing  in  brothels,  etc. 
Charged  with  punishable  offence  : 
Children  under  12       . 
Children  aged  12  and  under  14    . 
Uncontrollable  by  parents,  etc. 
Refractory  paupers,  etc. 
Education  Act  cases       .... 
Not  attending  or  misbehaving  at  a  Day 

Industrial  School     .... 
Contravention    of   by-laws  as  to   street 

trading    ...... 

Admissions  under  attendance  orders 
Voluntary  cases       ..... 

Admissions  to  Day  Industrial  Schools  on 

licence  from   Residential   Industrial 

Schools  ...... 

Transfers  from  Reformatory  Schools  by 

Secretary  of  State    .... 
Removed  from  Isle  of  Man  or  Channel 

Islands 

Removed  from  Scotland  or  Ireland 


Total 


Boys. 


274 

532 

28 

57 


14 
68 

414 

293 

174 

20 

1,378 

19 

3 
2 

116 


2 

I 

3.402 


Girls. 


21 

205 

21 

48 

7 

16 

82 

20 

35 

34 

2 

386 


10 
55 


948 


Total. 


295 

737 

49 

105 

7 

30 
150 

434 

328 

208 

22 

1,764 

25 

3 

12 

171 


4,350 


205 


APPENDIX   C 

DIETARY  TABLE 
C1.IFTON  Wood  Industrial  School 

Breakfast,  8  a.m. 

I  pint  hot  Bread  and  Milk  ;  Bread,  4  oz.     Or  I  pint  of  Porridge ; 
i  pint  Milk  ;  and  Bread,  4  oz. 

In  early  morning  ^  pint  Cocoa  and  a  Biscuit  or  two  are  given. 

Dinner,  i  p.m. 

Sunday  .        .     Corned  Beef,  6  oz. ;  Potatoes,  8  oz. 

Monday  ,         .     Pea  Soup,  I  pint  ;  Bread,  4  oz. 

Tuesday.         .     Boiled    Suet   Pudding,    12  oz. ;    with    Stewed    Fruit 

sweetened,  etc. ;  Bread,  2  oz. 
Wednesday     .     Irish  Stew,  i  pint ;  Bread,  4  oz. 
Thursday        .     Roast  Beef  or  Mutton,  6  oz.  ;  Potatoes,  8  oz.  ;   with 

Cabbage  or  other  Vegetables. 
Friday    .         .     Boiled  Suet   Pudding,    12   oz.  ;    with   Stewed   Fruit 

sweetened,  etc. ;  Bread,  2  oz. 
Saturday         .     Bread,  8  oz.  ;  Cheese,  2  oz.  ;  Cocoa,  i  pint. 

Supper,  6  p.m. 

Bread,  8  or  6  oz.  ;  Cocoa,  l  pint ;  Butter  or  Dripping,  5  oz. 
Boys  over  12  years  of  age,  8  oz.  ;  under  12  years,  6  02.  of  Bread, 

N.B.— Extra  bread  can  be  had  at  any  meal,  if  required. 


206 


APPENDIX   D 

DIETARY  TABLE 
REDHiLii  Farm  School  (Reforbiatory) 


Day. 


Sunday. 


Monday 

Tuesday 
Wednesday 

Thursday 

Friday  . 
Saturday 


Breakfast. 


Dinner. 


Bread,  8  oz., 

Milk,  f  pint, 

or  Cocoa,  i  pint. 


Ditto. 


Ditto. 

Ditto 
(or  as  Saturday). 

Ditto. 


Ditto. 

Oatmeal  Por- 
ridge, i  pint  (6oz.), 
Bread,  4  oz.. 
Milk,  f  pint. 


Meat,  6  oz. 

Bread,  4  oz. 

Vegetables, 

16  oz. 

Baked  Suet 
Pudding,  20  oz. 

As  Sunday. 

Ditto 
(or  fish,  I  lb.). 

Baked  Suet 
Pudding,  20  oz. 

As  Sunday. 

Bread,  12  oz. 
Cheese,  4  oz. 
Onions,  4  oz. 


Supper. 


Bread,  8  oz., 

Butter,  f  oz., 

Milk  or  Cocoa 

as  at  Breakfast. 

Ditto. 


Ditto. 
Ditto. 

Ditto. 

Ditto. 
Ditto. 


In  winter  on  two  meat-days  4  oz.  are  allowed  for  soup,  with  8  oz. 
bread  and  vegetables,  and  on  the  other  two  meat-days  8  oz.  meat  are 
supplied.  Coffee  is  served  on  Sundays,  and  jam  allowed  in  lieu  of 
butter  once  a  week. 

N.B.— Tea  and  cake  are  supplied  for  supper  once  a  month,  e.\tra 
under  special  rules. 

207 


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Sunday. 

Monday 

Tuesday 

Wednesday   . 

Thursday 

Friday  .... 

Saturday 

208 


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Wednesday     . 
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209 


210 


YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 


Tea. 

To  a 
oz. 

gallon, 
pt. 

Cornish  Pie.                   oz. 
Meat  .        .        •        ■    5 

Tea 

.         2 

— 

Potatoes      ...        .6 

Sugar    . 

•       4 

— 

Milk    ....    6 

Milk     . 

•         ^~~ 

2 

Flour  ....     2 

Cocoa. 

Dripping     .         .         •     I 
Pepper  and  salt. 

Cocoa    . 

•       4 

— 

Sugar    . 

•       4 

— 

Rice,  Sago,  or  Tapioca 

Milk      . 

.     — 

2 

Pudding. 

Porridge. 

Rice,  sago,  or  tapioca .     2 
Sugar ....     2 

Oatmeal 

•      3 

— 

Suet    ....     I 

Sugar    . 

•      4 

— 

Milk    ....     I  pint 

Milk      . 

— 

4 

To  be  baked  in  very  slow  oven. 

Irish  Stew. 

To 

a  pint, 
oz. 

To  a  pound 

Jam  Pudding.                 oz. 

Meat     . 

. 

3l 

Flour  .        .        .        -6 

Potatoes 

• 

2 

Jam     ....     2 

Onions  . 

. 

l5 

Suet    ....     2 

Carrots,  etc.  .         .         .     i 

Made  with  meat  liquor  of  previous 
day. 

To  a  pint. 
oz. 


4 

2 

I 

1 


Pka  Soup. 

Meat 

Peas 

Carrots,  etc.  . 

Oatmeal 
Made  with  stock   from  bones  of 

previous  day. 

Stewed  Meat  and    To  a  pound. 
Rice.  °^- 

Meat      ....     6 
Rice      .         .         •        •     ^3 
Onions  .         .        ■         -la 


Raisin,  Date,  or  Fig 
Pudding. 
Raisins,  dates,  or  figs  .     2 
Flour  ....     7 
Suet    ....     2 


Stewed  Meat  and 
Haricot  Beans. 

Meat 

Haricot  beans 
Onions  . 


4l 


Suet  Pudding. 
Flour  . 
Suet    . 


8| 


Stewed  Fruit, 
Sugar . 
Rhubarb 
Water . 


•    4 
.  II 

.    i  pint. 

For  rhubarb,  apples,  prunes,  or 
dates  should  be  substituted  at 
times  of  the  year  when  this  can 
be  done  with  advantage. 

Again,  an  apple  or  orange  may 
at  certain  seasons  be  given  in 
place  of  stewed  fruit. 


APPENDIX   F 


GENERAL  TIME  TABLE 


Redhill  Boys'  Farm  School  (Reformatory) 


Summer. 

Winter. 

Rise 

5.30  a.m. 

6.0    a.m. 

School  or  work 

6.0      „ 

6.30    ,, 

Breakfast  and  recreation 

8.0      „ 

8.0      „ 

Chapel  .... 

9.0       „ 

90      ,, 

School  or  work 

930    „ 

930    „ 

Dinner  and  recreation    . 

12.0  noon 

12.0    noon. 

Work     .... 

i.o    p.m. 

1 .0    p.m. 

Recreation     . 

5-30    „ 

S-30    „ 

Supper  .... 

6.0      „ 

6.0      „ 

School  and  recreation    . 

7-0      „ 

7-0      „ 

Prayers .... 

8.30    „ 

8.0      „ 

Bed        ...         . 

9-0      „ 

8.30    „ 

Band  each  day  according  to  class. 
Gymnasium  Classes,  Morning . 
„  ,,        Evening. 

Drill  (General),  Monday  and  Thursday  . 

,,     (Special),  Tuesday 

,,     (Company),  Wednesday  and  Friday 


10  to 

12  a.m 

7  ,. 

8  p.m 

I  „ 

2    „ 

I  „ 

2    „ 

I  ,, 

2    „ 

Half-holidays  on  Saturdays,  Bank  Holidays,  and  Special  Days. 


In  Winter,  Evening  School  is  held  four  nights  in  the  week,  and 
two  are  devoted  to  recreation. 

211 


212 


YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 


On  Sunday  the  hours  of  Service  in  the  School  Chapel  are- 
Holy  Communion 8.0    a.m. 


Matins,  Litany,  and  Sermon 
Evensong  and  Sermon  . 


ii.o      „ 
6.30  p.m. 


About  an  hour  is  devoted  each  Sunday  to  Religious  Instruction  in 
school,  and  half  an  hour  each  week-day. 


Occupations  of  the  Boys. 


Field    . 

190 

Blacksmiths 

Cowhouse    . 

12 

Bakers . 

Carthouse     . 

4 

Bricklayers 

Stable  and  Garden 

8 

Laundry 

Tailors 

19 

House  . 

Shoemakers . 

12 

Chapel,  etc. 

Carpenters   . 

18 

Total 

6 
3 
5 
3 
18 
2 
300 


APPENDIX  G 

GENERAL  TIME  TABLE 
Park  Row  Industrial  School  for  Boys,  Bristol 

Week-days 


A.M. 


6.0  -  6.30 \  c  /Rise.     Private  Prayer.     Wash. 

6.30-  8.0  /  IClean  Dormitories.     Make  Beds.     Work. 

6.30-  7.0   \   ^jjjtgr   ^  ^^^^"     P"^^^^  Prayer.     Wash. 
7.0  -  8.0  /  \  Clean  Dormitories.     Make  Beds.     Work. 

8.0  -  9.0       Breakfast.     Recreation.     Prayers. 

9.0  -12.0      School   and  Work,   with   interval    of   ten    minutes    for 
School  Division. 

NOON.       P.M. 

12.0  -12.30  Drill. 

12.30-  i.o  Wash.     Prepare  for  Dinner. 

I.o  -  1.30  Dinner. 

1.30-  2.0  Recreation. 

2.0  -  5.0  School   and   Work,    with   interval   of  ten   minutes   for 
School  Division. 

5.0  -  5.30  Recreation      Wash. 

5.30-  6.0  Supper. 

60  -  7.30  Recreation. 

7.30-  8.30  Prayers.     Bed. 

Sundays 

A.M.        A.M. 

7.30-  8.30  Rise.     Private  Prayer.     Wash.     Tidy  Dormitories. 

8.30-  9.0  Breakfast. 

90  -  9- 30  Prayers. 

9.30-10.30  Prepare  for  Church. 

10.30-10.45  Church  Parade. 

10.45-  I.o  Church. 

213 


214  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

P.M.        P.M. 

I.o  -  1.30  Dinner. 

1.30-  2.30  Wash,  etc. 

3.0  -  4.0  Walk  out. 

4.0  -  5.0  Recreation. 

5.0  -  5.30  Supper. 

5.30-  6.30  Recreation, 

6.30-  7.30  Biblical  Instruction,  Hymns,  etc. 

7.30-  8.30  Prayers.     Bed. 

GENERAL  SCHEME  OF  WORK 

Subjects  taught  in  the  Schoolroom 

Arithmetic,  Mental  Arithmetic. 

Reading  and  Recitation. 

Composition,  Spelling,  and  Dictation. 

Geography  and  History. 

Singing. 

Object  Lessons  to  the  Juniors. 

Industrial  Training  Physical  Training 

Carpentry.  Free  Gymnastics. 

Shoemaking.  Dumbbell  Exercises. 

Tailoring.  Military  Drill. 
Drawing. 


I 


APPENDIX   H 

GENERAL  TIME  TABLE 

Warwickshire  Training  School  for  Girls  (Reformatory) 


6.0  Rising  bell. 

6.30  Work  in  House,  Dormitories,  etc.,  and  Laundry. 

8.0  Breakfast. 

8.30  Service  followed  by  bed -making. 

9.0  Division  I  in  School.'  Division  II  work  in  House,  Laundry, 
and  Needleroom. 

P.M. 

12.30  Dinner, 

i.o  Recreation. 

1.30  Division  II  in  School.    Division  I  in  House,  Laundr)',  and 

Needleroom. 

4.30  Tea. 

5.0  Recreation.     Laundry  girls  5-6  o'clock. 

5.30  Needlework. 

7.0  Recreation. 
7.35  Supper,  followed  by  Prayers. 

8.0  Bed. 
5.30-7.0       Monday,  Tuesday,  and  Wednesday,  girls  mend  their  own 

clothes. 

6.0-7.30  Tuesday  and  Thursday,  Lessons  for  "  left-school  "  girls. 

7.0-8.0  Thursday,  Friday,  and  Saturday,  Baths,  etc. 
2.0-4.30       Friday,  all  girls  in  School 

c^c_'7o  /       "       Cookery  Class  for  seniors. 


.45-7.0     {       "       J.°° 
I       ,,       Km 


tting  and  Crochet  Work  for  juniors. 

'  Divisions  take  alternate  weeks  for  morning  and  afternoon. 

215 


216  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

P.M. 

Saturday  morning,  extra  cleaning,  house  washing,  etc. 

.       ,,        Walk. 

I       ,,        evening,  Games,  Dancing  once  a  month  in  the 
2.0-4.30    J.         ^^.j^jg^ 

^Saturday  evening,  Singing  Practice  for  Church. 

During  summer  months  evening  work,  with  the  exception  of  mend- 
ing, gives  way  to  Games,  Gardening,  and  Morris  Dancing  on  the  lawns. 


GENERAL  SCHEME   OF  WORK 
Warwickshire  Training  School  fob  Girls  (Reformatory) 

Subjects  Taught  in  the  Schoolroom 

Arithmetic  and  Mental  Arithmetic. 

Reading  and  Recitation. 

Composition,  Dictation,  and  Writing. 

Geography  and  History. 

Singing  and  Drill. 

Scripture. 

Object  Lessons. 

The  girls  who  are  over  14  and  have  "  left  school "  have  three  hours' 
lessons  a  week.  Arithmetic,  including  housekeeping  accounts,  Reading 
and  Writing. 

Industrial   Training 

Needlework,  including  Cutting-out,  Machining. 

Housewifery. 

Laundry. 

Cookery. 


7-30 

i> 

9.0 

»> 

I2.0    > 

12.30/ 

12.30  noon, 

1.30  p 

.m. 

430 

>> 

S-O 

>> 

APPENDIX   I 

GENERAL  TIME  TABLE 
Stanhopk  House  Girls'  Industrial  School 

6.30  a.m.     Rise.      Six  girls  in  the  Laundry,   others  employed  in 

Housework. 
Breakfast  and  Prayers. 
Girls  in  school  except  those  over  I4  years  of  age,  who 

work  in  Laundry,  Kitchen,  House,  or  at  Needlework. 

Recreation. 

Dinner. 

Afternoon  School. 

Recreation. 

Tea. 
6.0       , ,       Monday  :  Knitting. 

Tuesday  :  Fancy  Work. 

Wednesday :  Elder  girls,  Bible  Class.   Others,  Recreation. 

Thursday  :  Repairing. 

Friday :  Bathing. 

Saturday  :  Recreation. 
8.0       ,,       Prayers.     Bed. 

Girls  under  10  years  of  age  spend  their  whole  time  in  school. 
Girls  from  10  to  14  years  of  age  spend  half  their  time  in  school. 
Girls  over  14  years  of  age  spend  Friday  afternoon  in  school. 
On  Thursdays  from  9.30  to  12.0  they  have  Special  Laundry  Lessons, 
and  on  Fridays  from  9.30  to  12.0  they  have  Special  Cookery  Lessons. 

Each  girl's  work  is  changed  monthly. 

The  elder  girls  attend  Church  twice  on  Sundays,  and  there  is  a  Bible 
Class  from  3  to  4  in  the  afternoon. 

There  are  walks  on  Wednesday  and  Saturday  afternoons. 

217 


218  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

GENERAL  SCHEME  OF  WORK 
Stanhopk  House  Girls'  Industrial  School 

Subjects  Taught  in  the  Schoolroom 

Arithmetic,   Mental  Arithmetic,   and  the   Keeping   of  Household 

Accounts. 
Reading  and  Recitation. 

Composition,  Spelling,  Dictation,  and  Writing. 
General  Information,  including  the  Common  Laws  of  Health. 
Geography  and  History. 
Singing  and  Drill. 
Scripture  as  set  by  the  Syllabus  of  the  Children's  Aid  Society. 

Industrial  Training 

Needlework,     including     Cutting-out,     plain     Dressmaking,     and 

Machining. 
Housewifery. 
Laundry. 
Cookery. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Across  the  Bridges   . 
The  Making  of  Citizens   . 
Citizens  in  the  Making     . 
The  Making  of  the  Criminal 
Working  Lads'  Chibs 
Manchester  Boys 
Young  Gaol- Birds    . 
Studies  of  Boy  Life  in  our  Cities 


The  Growing  Generation. 

Child  Problems  (U.S.A.) 

The  Junior  Republic 

The  Town  Child       . 

The  Town  Boy 

Boy  Labour  and  Apprenticeship 

Juvenile  Offenders    . 

Schools  at  Home  and  Abroad  . 

Preventive    Treatment   of  Neglected   Children 
(U.S.A.) 

Administrative     and     Educational     Work 
American  Juvenile  Reform  Schools    . 

Le  Sauvetage  d'Enfance  .... 

Lutte     contre    la     Criminalite     des     Mineurs. 
(Hungary)         .... 

The  Spirit  of  Youth  and  the  City  Streets 

The  Child  and  the  State  . 

The  Health  of  the  State    . 

Report  of  the  Parliamentary  Commission  of  1834  on  Reformatory  and 

Industrial  Schools. 
Report  of  the  Departmental  Committees  of  1898  and  191 1  on  Reforma- 
tory and  Industrial  Schools. 

219 


Alexander  Paterson. 

Hughes. 

F.  J.  Billiarde. 

C.  B.  Russell. 


Edited     by 

Urwick. 
Barclay  Baron. 
Mangold. 
W.  George. 
Bray. 


E.    J. 


W.  D.  Morrison. 
Hughes. 

Hastings  H.  Hart. 
of^David   S.    Snedden, 
/     Ph.D. 

fComte  Andrassy  and 
Bella  Kun. 

Jane  Ad  dams. 
Margaret  McMillan. 
George  Newman. 


220  YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 

Report  of  the  Parliamentary  Inquiry  into  the  Abuses  said  to  exist  at 

the  Heswall  Nautical  School. 
Fifty-fourth  and  Fifty-fifth  Reports,  for  the  years  1910  and  191 1,  of  the 

Inspector  of  Reformatory  and  Industrial  Schools  (Parts  I  and  II). 
Criminal  Statistics  (Part  I)  for  1910  and  191 1. 
The  Certified  Schools  Gazette  from  July  191 1  to  May  1912. 


INDEX 


Absconding,  93 

Act,  Children,  1908,  23 

,,    Education,  1870,  10 
Acts,   Reformatory  and  Industrial 

School,  1854,1861,  1866,  1876, 

1893,  20-22 
After-care,  Boys,   121,   122,   170, 

195 
After-care,  Girls,  147,    150,    170, 

19s 

Agricultural  training,  1:7 
Apprenticeship,  115 
Army  as  a  career,  1 16 
Arnold,  Dr.,  95 
Athletic  Associations,  98 
Auxiliary  Homes,  123,  148,  149, 

195.  197 

"  Big  Brothers,"  U.S.A.,  43 
Boarding-out,  41,  175,  186,  200 
Buildings  and  equipment,    58-60, 

198 
By-laws,  infringement  of,  1 1 

Care  Committees,  4,  198,  201 

Carpenter,  Mary,  18-20 

Certified    Schools   Agency,    123- 

125,  197 
Character  and  environment,  1-3 
Cinematograph,  its  abuse,  8 
Citizenship,  training  in,  102,  103 
Classification,  173-176,  187 
Clubs,  9 


221 


Cookery  for  boys,  106 
Courts,  Juvenile,  6,  12,  25 

Day  Industrial  Schools,  152-158, 

198 
Departmental  Committees  of  1896, 

1911,  22,  177-201 
Diet,  56-58,  App.  C,  D,  E. 
Discipline,  Boys,  88-97,  191 

„  Girls,     128-135,     191, 

192 
Domestic  Service,  145,  146 

Economic  and  industrial  interest, 

III,  112 
Elementary      Education,      72-78, 

181-184 
Emigration,  118,  146,  189 

Gambling  and  betting,  9 
George  Junior  Republic,  89,  lo2 
Guthrie,  Dr.,  19 

Hart,  Hastings  H.,  105 
Heredity,  13 
Hill,  Davenport,  19,  20 
Horticultural   training,   no,   II9, 
120,  142,  143 

Industrial  training,  Boys,  103- 

107,  194 
Industrial    training.    Girls,     139- 

144,  19s 


222 


YOUNG   DELINQUENTS 


Inspectors,  39,  40,  182-184 
L.C.C.,  33,  loi,  175 

M.A.B.Y.S.,  149.  197 

Maintenance,  Authorities  respon- 
sible for,  31-34 
Maintenance,  cost  of,  35-36 
Malingering,  94 
Managers,  40-44,  184,  185 
Marine  Society,   17 
Medical  careof  schools,  49-55,  184 
Musical  training,  106,  137 

Nautical  training,  107-109 
Norton,  Lord,  20 

Occupations  of  boys  who  left 
schools  1908-1911,  1 13-120 

Occupations  of  girls  who  left 
schools  1908-1911,  i44-'47 

Out-of-door  work  for  girls,   142, 

143 

Parents'  contributions,   32 
Parental  neglect,  4-6 
Parkhurst  Prison,  18 
Philanthropic  Society,  17 
Physical    and    mental   condition, 

49-52 
Physical  and  moral  ailments,  their 

connection,  3,  4 
Physical  training,  Boys,  97-101 

Girls,  135-136 
Pounds,  John,  18 
Punishment,  Boys,  93-97,  191,  I93 
„  Girls,  131-135,    192, 

193 

Ragged  Schools,  19 
Re-convictions,  165-167 
Recreation,  Boys,  99-103 


Recreation,  Girls,  1 35- 1 37 
Reformatory       and        Industrial 
Schools : 

Certification  of,  38,  184 
Children     eligible     for,     29, 

App.  A,  B. 
Definition  of,  28 
Difference  between,  44 
Number  of,  37,  38 
Number    of   children    under 

detention  in,  37,  38 
Receipts     and     Expenditure 
for,  34-^36 
Religious  instruction,  78-84 
Results  of  training,  163-169 
Royal  Commission,  1834,  18 
1884,  21 

Sandown,  Lord,  21 
Scott,  Russell,  20 
Scouting,  99-101 
Shaftesbury,  Lord,  10,  18,  19 
Short-term     Industrial     Schools, 

158-160,  198 
Special  Industrial  Schools,    l6l, 

162,  175 
Staff,  68-71,  177,  185 
State's  responsibility,  169-172 
Street  trading,  Juvenile,  12 
Sturge,  Joseph,  20 
Superannuation,  62,  185 
Superintendents,  61-65 

Time  Table,  74,  75,  App.  F,  G, 
H,L 

Uniform,  Boys',  85-88 
Girls',  126-128 

Washing  apparatus,  58 
Watson,  Sheriff,  19 


Printed  by  Hazell,  Watson  &  Viney,  Ld.,  London  and  Aylesbury. 


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